To Love a Marauder
by ms.slytherinn
Summary: At the infamous battle at the Ministry, everyone is preoccupied with Harry's loss of Siruis. but no one except Albus happens to notice the sobbing Hermione Granger that managed to keep her relationship with Sirius under wraps even until the very end.
1. Losing Sirius

**I'm usually a HG/DM shipper fan, but I'm going out on a limb to try and write SB/HG. I really love the character of Sirius so I'm writing this ship, even though I know not many people read it. I hope you just test it out and tell me what you think. Check out my other fic too, Love is Just a Game.**

**THANKS!**

BTW not a one shot! This is just the introduction

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**To Love a Marauder**

On the night of June 22nd, the outside of the massive Ministry of Magic seemed normal and undisturbed. The building looked as it did everyday, and the grounds outside were quiet. Nothing could have made this night appear to be any different from the rest aside from the cries of a red feathered phoenix that were heard in the distance.

However, many cases in history can vouch for that fact that appearances are usually quite different from reality. Inside the Ministry this evening was a raging battle, one that would later live on to be the confirmed return of the dark,cunning and evil Lord Voldemort. The outside walls of the Ministry were deceptive, as they hid shambles of the rooms that lay inside. Out of all the various rooms in the Ministry, The Hall of Prophecies was in the worst condition. The floor was coated in layers of broken glass and collapsed wooden shelves were stacked to the heavens. Amidst the wreckage, a few bodies were scattered about on the floor, all were black cloaked figures that wore silvery masks to cover their guilt trodden faces. The room, aside from the ruins and bodies, was now empty. The fight had moved itself to a different room, one that contained the Veil.

"_Don't give it to him, Harry!" Neville Longbottom yelled, ignoring the wand Bellatrix Lestrange was prodding into his neck. Harry Potter, the boy who would not die, stood in the center of the room. Surrounding him, his friends Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, and Luna were each held tightly by a Death Eater. In front of him, Lucius Malfoy had his hand outstretched, awaiting the Prophecy Harry held to be placed into it. Harry furrowed his brow, trying to ignore his pounding heart. _

"_Potter, I am getting a bit impatient with you. Hand me the prophecy now or you will watch as all of your friends are killed," Lucius hissed. Harry felt sweat begin to drip from his forehead as he looked around the room at his friends. Ron was wincing at the grip his captor was exerting onto his neck. Hermione was biting her lip furiously, trying to ignore the foot that was stomping on hers. The others all held a similar reaction, one of pain and uncertainty. He couldn't stand to watch those who forced their company on him to be killed. He couldn't do it._

"_Fine, take it you great git," Harry growled as he extended his shaky hand, dropping the glittering orb onto Malfoy's palm. Lucius formed a smirk on his pointed pale face in light of his victory._

"_Why, thank you Potter. I'm glad you have come to your senses," Lucius said, giving Harry a curt nod. _

"_Now let my friends go, Malfoy," Harry demanded, gripping tightly onto wand. Lucius scoffed and made a clicking noise with his tongue._

"_Silly boy, did you really think I'd just let them go? Did you forget what we are? We are Death Eaters and be damned if you would so foolishly put so much faith in us," Lucius let out a sinister laugh._

"_You filthy lying scum!" Harry yelled, brandishing his wand at full staff. Lucius shook his head and raised his cherry colored wand as well._

"_Watch your language, Potter. It would truly be a pity if your last words were a string of unthoughtful curses," Lucius hissed as he twirled his wand in his hand._

"_Don't you dare tell my Godson to watch his language you fucking bastard," a new voice said from behind Lucius. Harry saw Lucius' eyes grow wide in subtle fear as he turned around swiftly to face the unknown man._

"_Ah, dear Sirius, charming as always I see?" Lucius droned as he saw his company, his voice laced with sarcasm. Harry's mouth was gaping at the sight of his godfather, standing before him. _

"_Wonderful job holding up Harry, but I think I'll take it from here," Sirius called over Lucius' shoulder, throwing Harry a wink. Before Harry could respond, Sirius had thrown a curse at the elder Malfoy, causing Lucius to stumble backwards, the Prophecy slipping from his hands and landing with a crash onto the floor. Lucius opened his mouth in horror at the broken orb,curinsg loudly. Ignoring the broken sphere, Harry smiled broadly at his godfather, hoping to get a chance to speak with him, but that wish was cut short when Aurors from the Order began Apparating onto the scene left and right. Remus Lupin had turned up next to Harry, nudging him out of the way._

"_Harry, take your friends and get out of here! This isn't going to be pretty!" he grunted, shooting jets of light at an approaching Death Eater. Almost instantly, the Death Eaters that had held his friends captive had released them and were engaging in fighting the members of the Order._

"_C'mon everyone, we have to go NOW!" Harry yelled, waving his arm, beckoning the young wizards and witches to him. He saw his friends attempting to run to him, avoiding the flashes of light that were flying everywhere. The group found their way safetly to Harry, pausing to catch their breath._

"_Everyones here mate, let's go," a panting Ron said after a few seconds. Harry nodded and looked at the group quickly making sure Ron's observation was correct, but a sharp pang was felt in Harry's chest when he saw one of them was missing._

"_Where is Hermione?" he asked. The others looked around them, confusion on their faces._

"_I thought she was with us!" Ginny exclaimed. They all turned around, looking at the battle waging on in front of them, hoping to spot Hermione's brown, bushy hair. Harry's attention was soon drawn away from locating Hermione to the biggest fight that was occurring by the Veil. Sirius and Bellatrix were in a heated fight and neither seemed as if they would retreat until on of them would end of dead.Sirius was throwing every hex and curse he could think of against Bellatrix Lestrange, whose cackling could be heard throughout the room._

"_Why Cousin, you are as pathetic and weak as the teenagers you seem to be trying so hard to protect!" she laughed menacingly as she avoided another one of Sirius' curses._

"_And you are as ugly and horrid as you've ever been, you nasty wench," Sirius spat back, throwing an impressive spell at her, causing Bellatrix to fly backwards. Seeing the state of Bellatrix, Sirius began sprinting over to a pile of rocks, blasting away anyone that stepped in his path._

"_What do you reckon Sirius is doing? Is he mad?!" Ron yelled. Harry had no idea what Sirius was running so wildly for, with such determination on his face. Looking over to the rocks where Sirius was headed, he recognized a tuft of brown hair that was barely visible over one of the boulders. _

"_Hermione's over there, by the rocks!" Harry proclaimed as realization dawned on him. Forgetting his senses, he began dashing over to the stones. He could see Bellatrix rising from the floor out the corner of his eye. She looked as if she would kill the first person to walk in front of her as she quickly swirled into black wispy smoke and landed next to Sirius._

"_Trying to help the Mudblood are you?" she yelled at him. Sirius saw her raise her wand in fury, his eyes bulging. Harry knew Sirius must have expected what would be coming out of her wand shortly as he leaped and dove sideways in front of the trembling Hermione._

"_Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix bellowed and a jet of green light erupted out of her wand in Hermione's direction. Sirius' soaring body got the blast of the spell as he fell to the ground. Harry had finally reached him, but it was too late._

"_SIRIUS! SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, reaching down to him, shaking his shoulders. A serene look graced the dead man's face as Harry's shakes became weaker._

"_See you around, Potter," Bellatrix scoffed with an evil grin creeping onto her face as she disappeared from the room._

"_No...Please…Sirius!" Harry fell onto his knees; his face covered in tears. He wrapped his arms around the man's body, pounding his fist onto Sirius' chest, in anger that he had left him all alone in the world._

"_We have to go Harry!" the booming voice of Lupin said from behind him. _

_"I won't leave him! I can't!" Harry yelled, his voice cracking. Lupin swallowed a gulp in his throat as he fought the urge to drop to the ground to cry with Harry at the site of his best friend dead. __He reisisted , knowing the danger they were in, and grabbed Harry's flailing body, trying pulling him back. Harry's screams pierced the ears of the other Death Eaters as they all turned around to see Harry fighting Lupin's restraints. The loud crack of another apparition was what brought the memorized wizards and witches out of their stupor._

"_Dumbledore," Lupin whispered as he saw the figure of the man appear beside him. Harry didn't bother turning around to view the entrance of the Headmaster. Nothing else matteredat that moment in time except him staying right here with Sirius' body. However, at that same moment the other Death Eaters seemed to have noticed that a fight with Dumbledore was not on the menu and they began to Dissapparate. _

"_Let's go Harry," Lupin said softly, pulling Harry back from his godfather's lifeless body. Harry let out another body racking sob as he let Lupin drag him away._

_The action slowly ceased in the room, as Harry's friends all ran over to him, holding him in a large embrace. The Aurors put their heads down in a respectful bow, clearly shaken by the death of a great man faithful to the Order, and Harry's hero. Only the old eyes of Albus Dumbledore noticed the small shape of Hermione Granger in the corner bent over Sirius' body, spilling buckets of tears all over the man, and grasping on tightly to his collar as if trying to bring him back. _

"_Don't leave me, Sirius" Hermione begged quietly, looking pleadingly into the lifeless eyes of her one and only love._


	2. Broomsticks and Blacks

Hey, I'm glad people are actually reading this ! Just for clarification, the chapters from now on will show how Hermione and Sirius develop a relationship meaning the first chapter was actually the end, but it's really not. I'm going to continue what happens after the ministry once we're all caught up here. I love the reviews and feedback, enjoy!

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**To Love a Marauder**

"Got all of your stuff, Hermione?" an ecstatic Nymphaora Tonks questioned . The young Gryffindor beside her nodded and made a motion to close her trunk but stopped.

"Wait, one more thing," Hermione said, tossing one final book into her trunk; that being _Solving the Unsolvable: The Physics of Magic_

"Good gods ,Hermione. You and your books are like mother and children," Tonks joked but with a proud admiration for the studious and intelligent girl.

"That's the last of it," Hermione smiled, now fastening the buckle of her heavy trunk tightly. She took a moment to take a quick glance around her room, making sure she had left everything neat and tidy for when she would return next summer. Her bed was perfectly made, not a wrinkle was in site. Her massive book shelf was alphabetized and categorized; only now many books were missing as they were coming with her to the Headquarters. The white Victorian dresser she cherished was dusted and cleaned, leaving no traces of brown hair that always happen to fall off of Hermione's head. Nodding in satisfaction, Hermione turned her attention back to the vivacious Tonks, whose blue hair matched Hermione's walls.

"Are we leaving now?" Hermione inquired. Tonks nodded her head and pulled out her wand to levitate Hermione's trunk.

"Yup, just as soon as Moody gives us the go ahead, and I would also like to warn you that we are going to be traveling by broom," she said hastily, trying to dismiss the fact that they would be traveling by Hermione's least favorite mode of transportation.

"Broom?! But you know I am a terrible flyer!" Hermione wailed. It was certain that the words she had spoken were completely true and anyone that knew her would agree. She had ridden a broom many times with her best friends Harry and Ron at the Burrow and they both were fully aware that she couldn't fly to save her life. Even during their playful Qudditch games, Hermione was always the last to be chosen onto a team, and they usually didn't exactly count her as a player, she was more like a speaking Bludger.

"I know Hermione, but there really is no other safer way," Tonks sympathized and pat her shoulder in reassurance.

"You'll be fine, don't worry," she added, only making Hermione's nerves worsen.

'_I'm going to get us all caught, I know it. I'm probably going to fly into someone's apartment on accident giving them the idea I'm some kind of mobile brothel.'_

"Alright, lets bring this stuff downstairs so we can chat with the others until we have to leave," Tonks said happily, waving her wand in a small circular motion. The trunk, now levitating carefully in front of them, began making its way to the staircase of the Granger household. Tonks and Hermione followed behind it, until they reached the bottom of the staircase where it landed softly onto the carpet.

"Got all your stuff Hermione?" the humble Remus Lupin asked her with a grin. Hermione grinned right back at the man who had once been her favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor in her third year. She held the utmost respect for him and was glad she would get to spend some of the summer with him.He was very young for a man that had been a professor, but he had aged in other ways, that proven by his boyish brown hair that was now speckled with grey.

"I think so, but I hope I'm not forgetting anything," Hermione said back to him, attempting to go through the list of things she needed to bring with her in her head.

"Brilliant, then we should be leaving any minute now," Lupin told her while grabbing her trunk. He took one of the four brooms that were leaning against the wall and began attaching her trunk to it with magical ropes. As he did this, Hermione took the opportunity to look for Moody, who was supposed to be awaiting some sort of signal. Hermione noticed the front door was ajar and she stepped toward it. She saw the figure of Mad Eye Moody standing directly outside of it, looking into the night sky.

"Good evening Miss Granger," Moody's gruff voice said to her, his back still to her.

'_God dam him and his magical eye. I hope that thing doesn't see through clothes or anything. Good gods that would be a nightmare. Argh that's disgusting.'_

"Hello Mr. Moody, still awaiting some sort of signal I see?" Hermione asked him, walking outside into the warm night stepping next to him. Moody turned his body slightly to face the girl that was now beside him.

"Bloody Shacklebolt should have sent the signal a good five minutes ago! I told him our best opportunity to leave unspotted would be when it's darkest out and by the time we receive the go-ahead it's going to be as bright as day," Moody growled, turning his head back toward the sky.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will be dark enough," Hermione said optimistically, tilting her head upwards to look at the black, velvety sky as well. She watched as the stars twinkled in a glimmering dance as she thought about how her summer had already begun.

'_I barely even had time to start my summer, with all of this war business going on. The week after I left Hogwarts Dumbledore sent me a letter saying I'd be leaving with a select group of Aurors to go to an undisclosed location for the rest of the summer. He did at least reassure me that I would be meeting up with the Weasley Family there, and eventually Harry, even though he made it blatantly clear that I shouldn't mention any of this to him. I couldn't even begin to wonder why but I guess it has to do with his safety or something to that affect. And then having to tell my parents I would be gone all summer wasn't the greatest moment in the Granger house. They weren't pleased but they knew it was what I had to do. Thank god they left for vacation yesterday. They wouldn't have to see me leaving because I know if they were here they probably would have changed their mind and kept me home. Damn it, it's so hot I feel like I'm in hell.Oh I must be because I just saw some red flames in the sky...or are those sparks?"_

Hermione returned from her thoughts as her eyes witnessed a small shower of sparks in the distance, assuming it was the signal. Moody's sudden shift in body weight confirmed her suspicions as he turned around to walk inside.

"There's the signal, lets get a move on," Moody barked to Lupin and Tonks who were still inside. They came out quickly holding the brooms.

"Here you go 'Mione," Tonks said to Hermione as she handed her the broom with her trunk attached to it. Hermione thanked her and took it out of her hands, mounting it hesitantly.

'_Oh Merlin, please help me not die on this journey, I swear I'll never raise my hand again in Potions if I live……okay I won't raise it THAT much.'_

'Off we go!" Lupin said gleefully, kicking off the ground and soaring into the air. Moody shortly followed after him, leaving Tonks and Hermione.

"I guess it's now or never," Hermione said woefully to no one in particular as she kicked her foot onto the ground and felt her body start to rise. Tonks was right next to her gaining height and speed as well.

"See it's not so bad!" Tonks exclaimed as she outstretched one of her arms and laughed. Hermione smiled nervously and clung to her broom for dear life as it sped along faster to catch up with Moody and Lupin. Once all four of them were in some type of V formation that Tonks led, they slowed down a bit.

"Alright, we have to stick together and keep on course. No one goes dilly dallying off to themselves. This is an important miss-"Moody lectured until Lupin cut him off.

"Oh sod off. We're just going to Headquarters like we do any other day. We're not going to get gunned down by some Muggles who think we are gigantic birds," Lupin said jokingly. Moody growled in response and muttered something to the effect of "ignorant git."

Hermione couldn't help but letting out a muffled giggle after overhearing Moody's insult. Tonks must have heard Moody as well because she threw Hermione a wink and let out a small chuckle.

After the small scuffle between Lupin and Moody, the journey proved to be quite boring and uneventful. Hermione fought to keep her eyes open as sleepiness plagued her. Tonks had to shake her a couple times to make sure she was awake. The only thing that kept Hermione going was the thought of a warm bed in a cozy home awaiting her. Little did she know that Number 12 Grimmauld place was everything but cozy.

"We're here, Hermione," Lupin called out from over his shoulder. Hermione's eyes shot open as she slowly began to panic. She knew she'd have to make the plung downward and she hated landing more than any other aspect of flying.

"Please don't let me die!" Hermione squealed as her broom stick began it's descent downwards. She closed her eyes when she saw the ground below approaching rapidly.

"You've got to keep your eyes open to land!" Tonks shouted to her. Hermione unwillingly forced her eyes open as the ground was only a few feet below her. Pulling the broom stick up slightly, she extended her legs and landed with a thud.

"Congratulations,you made it down alive," Lupin laughed as he gave Hermione's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Her breathing slowed once she realized her feet were on solid ground.

'_Thank you flying gods! I'll try my hardest to live up to my promise about not raising my hand as much, but I can't help it if no one else in the class has got a clue about anything'_

"I love the ground, I really do," Hermione laughed and dismounted her broom. Tonks pulled out her wand once more to levitate Hermione's trunk as the group began walking to a row of shambled town houses. A large empty space was in-between two particularly dingy building and oddly this was where their procession stopped.

"I'm sorry but is this it?" Hermione asked the Aurors with a face of disbelief.

"You bet your broomstick it is. Here, quickly read this and memorize it," Moody said to her and thrust a piece of parchment in front of her. She took it from him and read the small, scrawled handwriting that said "Number 12 Grimmauld Place." She looked at it once more, confident she had it memorized even though she had no clue as to why she had to.

"Now what?" Hermione asked, raising her eyes from the paper. Her question however, vanished as soon as she saw in front of her a decent sized building in the space where the lot had once been empty. She raised an eyebrow as the group made their way up the cracked cement stairs to the door. Moody , who led the group, muttered an incantation and the front door abruptly swung open. He walked in, followed by Remus, who ushered his hand signaling Hermione to enter.

"Thanks Lupin," Hermione mumbled as he held the door open for her. She then stepped through the front door, gaping at what she saw. The building had looked terrible from the outside but it was no comparison to what lay before her. The walls of the home were dark colored and the paint was peeling off of them. The floor was dust covered and the boards were falling apart. The group walked down the narrow hallway quickly, leaving Hermione little time to scrutinize the details of the home. She happened to catch a glimpse of the various paintings on the walls, all of which were now wide awake, yelling and moaning. Moody grabbed the rusted doorknob of a door they had reached that was on their left and swung it open.

"We're all here, safe and sound," Lupin announced as he walked past Moody into the room. Hermione followed right behind, looking to see who he was speaking to. Her grimace instantly turned into a smile when she saw Molly Weasely seated at a long, oak table stirring a cup of tea. Next to her, Arthur Weasely, looking tired and exhausted, was reading a copy of the Daily Prophet. Across from them sat Sirius Black, who was beaming at Hermione and her companions.

"Oh Hermione! You've grown so much!" Molly squealed as she quickly got up from her seat and wrapped Hermione in a bone crushing hug. Hermione laughed at the caring woman when she withdrew.

"You saw me a week ago!" Hermione said to her, grinning from ear to ear. Arthur got up as well and walked over to her, giving her a slightly less rib breaking hug.

"I see you've made it in one piece. I guess you aren't the worst flyer in the world," Arthur said with a small grin. Hermione could have sworn she heard Moody let out a cough that sounded very similar to 'Oh Please' but she ignored it.

"If it isn't the lovely Hermione Granger, looking ravishing as always," the smiling Sirius Black said as he rose from his chair. His toned and muscular figure was clothed with a black robe that was bare at the top, exposing a multitude of tattoos etched onto his skin. His shaggy black hair was more managed now, as it rose above his shoulders to a satisfying length. His usual mustache was gone, and light stubble lay in its place.

"How are you Sirius?" Hermione finally asked him once she had finished studying him. She had surprised herself at the details she sought out in him. He was now in front of her, reaching his arms out for an embrace.

"Absolutely wonderful now that you lot are here!" he said happily in his usual husky voice. Hermione felt his arms enclose her as she hugged him back.

'_This is so awkward. Why am I thinking so much about this simple reunion with Sirius? It's just Sirus for goodness sakes, Harry's godfather! Nothing is any different than before. He's the same good natured man I remember…just a bit sharper looking. Oh no did I just say he is good looking? Of course I didn't….but it wouldn't be a lie if I did.'_

"Well I know we all want to sit and chat but it's really quite late and Hermione here needs to get herself to bed," Molly said, interrupting the embrace between Hermione and Sirius. Although it was only a few seconds, Hermione felt as if it lasted forever…and that really didn't bother her.

"Oh yes Molly, it is pretty late, and I know **you** are going to want to spend the day tomorrow catching up with Ron and Ginny," Sirius said, giving Hermione another smile. She felt her breath hitch when she saw his gentle face and she managed to find her voice.

"I am a bit tired, I guess I should go to bed," she said regretfully, reaching down to grab her trunk.

"Don't be silly Miss Granger, I'll take that for you," Sirius laughed and took the trunk from Hermione's hands.

"Just follow Sirius up the stairs and he'll show you to the room you're sharing with Ginny. Night dear!" Molly said to her.Hermione bid her goodnights to everyone and finally turned to follow Sirius up the stairs. Her eyes flashed around at the hundreds of paintings that plastered the walls. Curiosity of course, struck her.

"Sirius what-" she started to say but he hushed her.

"We've got to be quiet, or the paintings will wake the whole house up," he whispered to her putting his finger to his lips. Hermione nodded in understanding and continued to follow him up the stairs and then down the hallway to the second door on his left. He creaked the door open and she followed him inside. Setting her trunk down beside the first bed, he turned to Hermione.

"I hope you have a decent sleep, I know its going to be hard for you to get use to being in the ratty old house," he said to her in a hushed voice, due to the fact that Ginny was asleep in the other bed.

"I'm sure it will be quite alright. Goodnight Sirius," Hermione said, giving him a small smile. He returned the gesture and walked over to the door, exiting swiftly. Suddenly a question popped into Hermione's head.

"Wait, Sirius!" Hermione called out in a quiet whisper. The door creaked back open and his head popped back in.

"Something wrong 'Mione?" Sirius asked her with a trace of concern on his face. She shook her head.

"No, I'm fine...but I was just wondering, whose house is this?" she questioned. A handsome grin crept onto Sirius' face as he pointed a finger at himself a let out a quiet chuckle.

"That would be mine. Welcome to the House of Black, Miss Granger," he said graciously and left, closing the door behind him. Hermione, not bothering to change her clothes, hopped into bed and pulled the covers tight to her chin, losing herself in thought.

'_This house is Sirius'? Good gods I can't see him actually living here. It's so gloomy and he's just so cheerful…always happy and handsome. Handsome? Where did that come from? Oh gods Hermione, you're really losing your mind. Thinking that a man twice her age would even look at her twice._

But surprisingly at this very moment in the room next door, a handsome man **was** in fact pondering over how many times he had given a certain young lioness a good look and currently his tally had reached four. Sirius Black smiled to himself as one phrase repeated over and over in his mind until he drifted off into a pleasant sleep.

_Mischief Managed_.


	3. The Wrath of Molly

**Thanks again for the reviews. I know that their physical attraction is occuring somewhat fast but usually thats how it works in real life, unless you are blind or incredibly dimwitted haha. No offense to anyone that might offend.**

And here is Chapter Tres!

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****To Love a Marauder**

"Ron! Don't wake her, she's sleeping!" Ginny Weasley yelped as she scolded her older brother. He looked at the angelic sleeping figure of Hermione and put a pout onto his slightly freckled face.

"C'mon Gin, I need someone to talk to all day besides you!" Ron whined. Ginny glared at him, folding her arms.

"Fine Ron, you wake the poor girl up and see what she does to you," Ginny said simply with a wicked grin plastered onto her pretty face. Ron's pout turned into a scowl when he realized what Hermione's reaction to his early morning wakeup might be.

"Blimey, didn't think of that. I reckon she'd probably hex me into next week if I woke her," Ron said with a disappointed frown. It was a shame that Hermione had not woken up since the Weasely clan forced themselves to wake up extra early to greet her. Even Ron, who loved sleeping more than life itself had woken up at the crack of dawn to pummel his best friend.

"Damn right I would, Ronald Weasely," a groggy and annoyed voice said, muffled slightly by a pillow. Hermione was shifting in her bed now, opening her eyes slowly to the bright sun that flooded the room.

"Hermione! I thought you were sleeping," Ron admitted with an embarrassed tinge of pink on his face. Hermione started to sit up, wrapping the warm blankets around her tighter as she surveyed her two friends. She looked at Ginny first, who was standing at the foot of her bed with her hands on her hips glaring disdainfully at her brother. Her fiery and glossy red hair hung down her back as it swayed with each movement. An inward scowl erupted inside the Muggle Born. Hermione had always been envious of Ginny's perfect hair in comparison to Hermione's bushy, brown mess. However, it wasn't only Ginny's hair she was envious of, it was her in general. Ginny was naturally gorgeous, small and slim with a pretty face and the personality of a rambunctious and vivacious young girl. It was no wonder all the boys flocked to her, specifically a Mr. Harry Potter. Hermione smiled inwardly thinking of the mutual crush Ginny and Harry shared for each other that neither acted upon.

"You're bloody loud voice woke her up, you little boggart," Ginny snapped to her brother. She quickly switched personas as she now looked at Hermione with a big smile.

"Well, now that you're awake, you can come downstairs to breakfast," Ginny said, while fixing the bottom of Hermione's blanket.Hermione nodded and stretched her arms out above her head. She tried suppressing her yawn but failed miserably. Ron smiled at her failure and patted her back lightly.

"Or you can go back to sleep, you look like you haven't slept for ages," he said with a laugh. Hermione narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

"Oh thanks for the compliment, Ron," Hermione said sarcastically. Her glaring must have affected Ron because he hurried to the door to leave, pushing Ginny with him.

"We'll be downstairs if you need us," Ginny called out over her shoulder as Ron finally succeeded in shoving her out the door. Hermione chuckled to herself as she saw Ron dash out the door in panic. Ron, she thought, had improved in the looks department over the years. Unsurprisingly,Quidditch assisted him in helping him obtain strong and muscular arms to go with his tall body frame. His medium length red hair fell slightly above his eyes, giving him a boyish charm to contrast the body he had of a young man.

'_Yeah Ron's not that bad looking, but gods his personality is bloody horrendous. I can't even have a simple intelligent conversation with him, nonetheless one where it doesn't end in a screaming fest.'_

"Never gonna happen," Hermione said out loud in the empty room as she started to climb out of bed.

"What's never going to happen?" an older male voice coming from her door asked. Hermione turned her head to see Sirius now standing in her doorway with a confused expression. Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes, deciding it wouldn't do any harm to tell Sirius what she had been referring to.

"Me and Ron Weasely," she said, walking over to her trunk to gather her things she neededto get ready for the day. Sirius entered the room completely now and grabbed the chair closest to him to sit.

"It's a shame you know. You two seem like you were meant for each other," Sirius said to her with a mock tone in his voice. Hermione couldn't help but giggle at the man as she gathered all of her clothing into her arms.

"Oh yes, me and Ron go together like Filch and Snape," she said, shifting her clothes to one arm in order to tuck a piece of brown stray hair behind her ears. Sirius let out a hearty, baritone laugh as he rose from his chair.

"Careful what you say about Snape, 'Mione. He actually comes here quite a bit and you never know what he might overhear. You do want to pass Potions this year don't you?" Sirius said with a twinkle in his eyes. Hermione's mouth flew open at the thought of Snape coming here during the summer. It was supposed to be a break from school, well mostly Snape, for Merlin's sake!

"What, Snape comes _**here**_?!" she said in horror, dropping the bundle of clothing she had been carrying. Sirius nodded his head and sighed loudly.

"Unfortunately Snape's a part of the Operation we've got going on and being tthat his is Headquarters, he's got to come here for some of the meetings, " Sirius said with a tone of annoyance. It was clear as day that he and Severus Snape did not get along, but current conditions forced him to tolerate the man in spans of a few hours.

"Operation? What do you mean?" Hermione questioned, looking at Sirius, before bending down to pick up her clothing. She saw Sirius meeting her at eyelevel on the ground as he helped pick up her things. He seemed to be contemplating something as he chewed his bottom lip.

'_Oh great goblins, he looks so cute when he does that. Wait..Cute?! What am I thinking! This is Sirius Black here, the notorious (and innocent) Azkaban Escapee and Godfather to someone who's practically my brother. Which makes him like my uncle...my very fit looking Uncle. '_

"Dumbledore told us that we are allowed to tell you and the other Weasely children a few things about what's going on here, but he also added you cannot under any circumstances tell Harry," Sirius said to her in a hushed voice as they rose from the dirty floor. Hermione pursed her lips, racking her brain for possible explanations to what was going on here.

"Why can't we tell Harry?" she asked him. Sirius sighed once more and put his hands in the air as if declaring innocence.

"No idea, 'Mione. I want to tell him everything, I really do, but Dumbledore said now is not the time and I've learned over the years that Dumbledore always has a good reason for his decisions.Fortunately,we will be able to fill him in on everything once he arrives here in a week," Sirius told her with a hint of sadness in his voice. Hermione knew Sirius adored Harry, he was like the son he never had and a facsimile of his old best friend all in one. She was sure that he probably wanted to tell Harry everything he ever wanted to know but circumstances prevented that. It was most certainly driving him mad.

"That's bollocks. At least he should find out that he's coming to see us soon. He's stuck in that blasted house with those infuriating Durselys, wondering why he hasn't heard a word about what's going on in the Wizard World. Harry's the one who saw Voldemort return, he has full rights to know what that damned Prophets been saying," Hermione said quietly, thinking about the terrible situation her friend was in. Sirius' captivating grey eyes looked into her honey brown ones, expressing sadness and sympathy within them. He reached out his hand to pat her lightly on the shoulder.

"I know, Hermione. I know. I just wish he'd be able to come here sooner so I can stop all this bloody secrecy that's going on here," Sirius said, in an equally quiet voice. Hermione looked maticulously at the man in front of her, slowly taking in all of his features. His dark locks, dancing eyes, hard build, and inked body were captizating. The man she studied in front of her wasn't just a wizard who'd faced the worst luck in the world, but was a boy at heart .But at this moment, the person in front of her right now was a broken, sad soul wishing the best for his only godson. Hermione gave him a small smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm sure when the time is right, he will know. Harry will no doubt be infuriating but he'll get over it eventually.He loves you more than anything Sirius, and he is going to forgive you for keeping this from him, I know it and you do as well," she told him, lightly touching his arm. Sirius turned his gaze from the floor to the young witch in front of him who was a flaming beacon of comfort. He nodded at her, taking in the sweet words she spoke. Finally, after was seemed like hours just standing there basking in silence, he made a motion to the door.

"I am only guessing that with those clothes in your hand you'd want to know where the bathroom is?" Sirius asked Hermione in a lighter, more cheerful voice. She raised her eyebrow and then looked down at the clothes piled in her hands.

"Oh, I completely forgot I was about to get ready before you came," Hermione said, following Sirius to the door. Once they had emerged from the room, he pointed a finger down the hall to his right.

"Bathrooms that third door on the left, just make sure you knock because with all of the people in this wretched house, someone is bound to be in there," Sirius divulged and turned to walk down the opposite hall. Hermione started to walk to the bathroom when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned around in response to the touch and saw Sirius' puppy dog eyes staring into hers.

"Thanks for everything 'Mione," he said softly, squeezing her shoulder. Hermione nodded her head, her breathing a bit faster than it was a few seconds ago.

"I'll see you downstairs," she said once she had located her voice from within. For some reason, Sirius' low, growling voice was becoming hypnotizing to her and she had no idea why. Sirius smiled a toothy grin at her and began his descent downstairs.

"I look forward to it," Sirius whispered to himself once he was far out of Hermione's hearing range. He smirked openly as he clamored down the last of the stairs and made his way to the kitchen where he could hear a noisy buzz of talking from the hall. He found the door and opened it, taking in the sight in front of him.

Molly was hustling and bustling about at the stove, apparently cooking about ten different things at once. Pancakes were flying into the air, as well as toast was zooming across the room onto various plates placed at the long table On one side of the table, Ginny, Ron, Tonks and Lupin sat, chatting animatedly with each other and stuffing bits of food down their throat during the pauses. Across from them, Moody, Fred & George, Shacklebolt, and Arthur sat. Fred and George was talking in hushed whispers, most definitely discussing a new joke item they would be creating. Moody was sitting at the table in silence, staring at the kitchen around him, his magically eye going haywire. The final two, Arthur and Shacklebolt, seemed to be in deep conversation, presumably talking about the Ministry. Sirius smiled at the happy scene in front of him, glad to finally be around people since he'd be living in solitude for almost two years now.

"Take a seat and have some breakfast, dear!" Molly motioned to Sirius, who had spotted him walk in. Sirius smiled warmly and walked over to his usual chair at the head of the table.

"Good morning Sirius!" a chorus of voices chanted to him once he had slumped into his chair.

"Morning to you all as well, it's a fine day," Sirius said to them with a smile quirking his lips. He nodded a thanks to Molly as she placed a steaming cup of tea in front of him. He lifted it to his lips and took a sip, basking in the pure heaven that is Molly's tea.

"Ahh, gods Molly. Where did you learn to make such damn good tea?" Sirius asked her when she came back to him, dropping a plate of pancakes in front of him. She blushed furiously and waved her hand.

"Don't flatter me, Sirius! It's just plain ol' tea," she laughed, not able to hide the pink that rose to her cheeks. Sirius flashed her a million galleon smile and shrugged.

"Well I for one love your plain 'ol tea," he said, raising his mug to her in toast. After sipping some more of it, he focused his attention on the warm plate of food in front of him and began to eat, only pausing to comment in bits of conversation he heard around him. Just as he started listening to Ron's play by play of the Chudley Cannon game, he was interrupted by a pitter patter of feet that came from the hallway.

"Hermione dear! How did you sleep last night?" Molly's motherly voice rung through the kitchen causing Sirius' face to snap up from his plate of food. He looked to the doorway to see Hermione standing there nervously, glancing at the full house in front of her. Sirius used the awkward situation to his advantage by observing the girl closely; noticing her physical features once again even though he had very well took notice of them last night. Obviously age wise,Hermione was a young girl, but her appearance proved otherwise. True, she still had the same bushy brown locks, but now they seemed perfect , complementing her heart shaped face and skin tone. It was a milky crème color, but not too white as to seem pale, it was just right. Her honey brown eyes stood out too, as well as her slightly pointed noise and small pink mouth. Sirius moved his eyes downward to take a quick glance at her frame. She was tiny in both ways, that being height and weight. She couldn't have been an inch over 5'2 and she looked as light as a feather. However, even though she was slim,she did have the proper curves in well…the correct areas. Sirius smirked a bit at this thought, shoving another bite of pancakes into his mouth. He looked up as he saw Hermione sit directly across from him, beginning to sip her pumpkin juice slowly.

'_Blimey she's got perfect lips. They are so pink and soft looking. Oh gods I wonder how they would feel on my own or better yet on my neck. Merlin! I've got to get a hold of my self. This is disgusting, she's young enough to be my daughter, not to mention she's my god son's best friend.' _

"So how was your one week home?" the young female Weasely asked her. Sirius chewed thoughtfully as he looked at Hermione awating her response.

"I didn't really do much to be quite honest. I read a few books, you know, to catch up for next year," Hermione answered her, picking at her eggs now. Sirius couldn't help but smile at the little bookworm in front of him. She differed quite drastically from Sirius in matters involving priorities. Hermione was always reading, hoping to get ahead in class, and would stop at nothing to do that, which made her extremely bright. Sirius on the other hand, never studied in school or even picked up a book. He was naturally talented and be damned if anyone thought he was cocky because of it. Usually though, he would tease someone for being this school conscientious, but not Hermione. She made him proud in so many ways. Her wit is what helped her, Ron, and Harry get out of many tight situations, and he was in debt to her because of it. To put it plainly, he could give a Galleon less if she was a know-it-all. He in fact found it quite alluring.

"You are out of your mind, Hermione. We've barely left school and you're already probably halfway down with next year!" Ron said with an exasperated sigh. Hermione rolled her eyes and stabbed sharply at her eggs.

"Just because you chose to keep your books a good mile away from you at all times doesn't mean I can't better myself. If I recall correctly, if it wasn't for me, you probably would have been skewered by Snape already," she bluntly spoke, a twinkle in the corner of her eye shown.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Ron protested, grabbing another piece of toast off the place.

"Life's not fair, you should certainly know that by now," Sirius spoke to him with a chuckle. Ron huffed and decided to leave this subject to press a different issue.

"Well I'll tell you whats not fair. Being dragged to some secret house in the middle of London and not knowing what the hell is going on.Is someone going to tell us why we are here?" Ron asked, this time, causing everyone to cease their conversations. The adults looked at each other and seemed to exchange silent thoughts with one another. The children stared at them intently, eyes hopeful for answers. Sirius sighed and took it from the way the others were looking at him, that he would have to be the one to tell them.

"Alright you buggers, I guess it is only fair for you to know why you've been dragged to this dung hole," Sirius began, taking a swig from his tea. The young wizards and witches leaned forward to hear better, particularly Hermione, who was practically hovering over Sirius' tea cup.

"This house is a Headquarters, as you've heard. But what you didn't learn was what it was headquarters for," he paused, making sure their attention was solely focused on him and it was.

"We, referring to myself, Arthur. Molly. Tonks, Lupin, Moody, Shacklebolt, Snape, Bill, Charlie, a bunch of other Aurors and magic folk as well asDumbledore, are in an organization known as the Order of the Phoenix," Sirius said, seeing the eyes of the young adults widen.

"The Order, as we call it in short, is secret organization that was founded during the first war that works to fight Lord Voldemort," he said while watching the flinches of those around him at the mention of Voldemort's name. He thought carefully about what he was going to tell underage wizards and witches, trying not to give away too much information.

"Now that hes back, Dumbledore has decided to call on the old members once again to join forces to try and fight him once again.The meetings that we have often are used to discuss new information we've discovered about Voldemort's whereabouts, his plans, and just about any information we have on his Death Eaters. It's a top secret organization we have going on and none of you, and I mean NONE of you can say anything to anyone about it, especially Harry," Sirius added, making sure he would glare into each of their eyes to enforce the message. When it came time to glare into Hermione's, Sirius felt he lingered a bit longer than he should have.

"Why can't we tell Harry?" Ron asked, looking suspiciously at Sirius.

"Because, he just cannot know about this yet. It's Dumbledore's request that he doesn't and I suggest we follow it precisely. Anyway, Harry will be here shortly, and then you can tell him all you want," Sirius said. The truth was though, that Sirius wanted to tell Harry all about the Order and what was going on with Voldemort more than anyone, but he knew it could not be done. He'd have to wait it out like the rest of them.

"Can we join?" Fred and George said simultaneously as they bounced in their chairs.

"Heavens no! You have to be of age to join which you two certainly are not!" Molly Weasely interrupted in her high pitched voice, giving venomous glares at the boys. Sirius saw Hermione fidgeting wildly out of the corner of his eye, most likely mustering the courage to say something. Sirius confirmed his inkling when he heard her clear her throat lightly while everyone turned to look at her.

"Not to be rude or anything Mrs. Weasely but I think we should be allowed to join. We've got just as much right as anyone else…..possibly more," she added her last words quietly at the end. Sirius leaned forward in his seat, eager to hear what she had to say.

"Do tell Miss Granger," Sirius coaxed her, receiving a nervous glance from her. She breathed in deeply before continuing.

"Well, we all want to fight; there is no doubt about that. And no offense to you all, but the lot of us have **actually fought** against Voldemort in the past, especially Harry. I know he is going to want to join more than any of us and I think if we are willing to take the risk, we should be allowed to," Hermione said bravely, sitting up a bit straighter in her chair. Ron nodded furiously in agreement as the twins slapped the table and hooted.

"Hermione's right! If we want to risk our necks on our own accord you shouldn't stop us, "Fred argued. Molly looked abosolutely furious at them; her face turning redder by the second.

"Now Molly lets not get our selves carried away," Lupin said slowly,in an attempt to prevent her from going mad. Arthur shook his head at Lupin to signify that he shouldn't say anything else, and that he would only make things worse.

"Carried away?! Is that what you think I am going to do! Oh, Remus, you have no idea what it's like, having your own children in the Order! Half of my family is in it, and I have to worry everyday one of them is going to get k-k-killed!" she wailed, releasing furious tears.

"It's quite alright Molly; Lupin and the children didn't mean to upset you. And you are right in the fact that none of us know what it's like to have our children in the Order, but for me, Harry is like my son and if I am willing to let him fight, then maybe you should consider letting your children who want to fight do it too," Sirius said in calm voice. Apparently, calm wasn't the effect Molly received as she threw open the door to the kitchen.

"Sirius, Harry is not James! He won't ever be James, and I do not think that James would have wanted you to let his son go chasing after _**HIM **_and getting himself killed!" Molly yelled. She pointed a finger at the open door and glared at the children.

"Everyone out, right now! Anyone under the age of seventeen I want out of this kitchen this INSTANT!" Molly shrieked. The noise of chairs being pushed out scratched Sirius' ears as the reluctant younglings began to stand up and sulk to the door. They left one by one, trying to ignore Molly's fuming face. Hermione was the last to leave and grudgingly walked to the door the slowest. She seemed to want to stay and battle it out with Molly but her senses got the better of her as she exited the room. Sirius watched her up until the moment her last lock of brown hair disappeared from the door frame. He put his cup of tea to his lips and drained the last drop, still staring at the empty door frame with a light mist of lust in his eyes.

'_That bloody girl is going to send me to the gallows, right she is.'_


	4. To Mourn a Friend

**Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoyed Deathly Hallows as much as myself, except for the stupid epilogue haha. I'm glad I'm getting positive feedback for this fic, I'm going to try updating as much as I can. This chapter was actually going to go up yesterday but I knew many people would be reading or would be too damn excited once they finished to read fan fiction. Have fun reading!**

* * *

** To Love a Marauder**

"Wow, I can't believe this….blimey, the Order of the Phoenix _**here?!**_ And half our bloody family and friends are in it and we didn't know?!" Ron Weasley mused with a hint of bewilderment in his voice. The faces around him looked just as wide eyed and shocked as himself.

"And the worse part of this is that Harry doesn't have a clue," Hermione said with concern flooding her voice. She sighed shakily and tried organizing this flock of information neatly in her head. Around her, she could tell the others were doing the same.

Almost immediately after Mrs. Weasley had kicked her, Fred & George, Ron and Ginny out of the kitchen they ran straight up to the girls' bedroom to discuss what they'd just heard. Fred and George flopped lazily onto Ginny's bed, and were currently scrunching their noses in thought. On the spare chair, Ron sat uncomfortably with a perplexed the expression spread onto his face. Hermione and Ginny sat on the edge of Hermione's bed, both looking more curious then anything else..

"Maybe Harry's better off not knowing all of this stuff right now. It's only going to make the poor bloke go completely mad when he finds out they've been keeping this from him," George reasoned while playing with a Sparking Quill he had pulled out of his pocket. Ginny shook her head furiously in response and pulled her legs up so she could bring her knees to her chest.

"He needs to know! He is only going to be angrier when we keep avoiding information about you-Know- Who in our letters," Ginny told them. Hermione silently agreed but knew better than to suggest telling him. If Dumbledore wanted to keep this from Harry, then she knew to listen to him.

"We aren't going to say a word about this to Harry, do you understand guys? As much as I love jokes and pranks, this isn't a time for one. We've got to be serious about this…the Order of the Phoenix is a dangerous and top secret force. We can't go rattling on about it in a letter," Fred said to the group, looking more like his father by the second. Hermione sighed and leaned back onto her pillows, wishing she could just close her eyes for a second to ponder over everything by herself.

'_Why can't they tell us about the plans dealing with Voldemort that they know about? Surely we could handle it...it's not like we haven't fought him before. Really, sometimes I think those adults need to stop treating us like ten years olds. They know we want to fight more than anything and that we'll be by Harry's side as long as it takes until Voldemort's dead.'_

"There you are, my little rebels," a voice from the door said. Hermione opened her eyes to see Sirius standing in the room, surveying the Pow-Wow in front of him. He seemed to smile a bit more once he turned his gaze toward Hermione. She felt a leap in her stomach.

"Hey Sirius," the group answered back in gloomy depressed voices.

"Whats a mater?" he asked them as he moved toward a bare piece of wall and leaned again it, folding his arms over his chest. The children's eyes all met each other in haste, silently deciding who would be the one to talk. A unanimous stare in Hermione's direction elected her as the honorary speaker.

"Well Sirius, "Hermione began in a breathy voice, trying to calm her nerves. She composed herself and raised her face to stare directly into Black's eyes. He looked at her intently, waiting for her voice to continue.

"We're kind of confused with the ...lack of knowledge you presented to us," she said, attempting to not directly say 'You No Good Information Holding Git.'

"Oh, and what is it that you'd like to hear?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow. A small smirk played on his lips as he took his back off of the wall he was leaning on and stood firmly on the ground.

"Why haven't we been told about the Order before? What's You-Know-Who planning on doing? Why can't we tell Harry? Whats Snape got to do with the Order?" Hermione babbled in one long breath. She stopped after she'd realized how many questions she asked. Her face felt a blush rise to it as she looked away from Sirius' eyes and over to Ron's, who was already staring at her with amusement.

"Asked enough questions Hermione?" Ron joked and started to smile until he stopped and looked over at Sirius who was patiently waiting for him to cease goofing off.

"You haven't been told about the Order before because we haven't met for about fifteen years, we stopped meeting once we thought Voldemort had vanished," he said plainly, not wincing as the plagued name left his lips.

"The real reason we can't tell you what Voldemort is doing is because truthfully we aren't exactly sure. We know he's planning on obtaining something he didn't have before, but that's about it. And do not look at me that way Miss Weasley, I will not be the one telling you what hes trying to get!" Sirius said quickly when he saw Ginny's face glow with excitement at the mention of some sort of secret object,

:"Why can't you tell us!" George protested, sitting straight up in the bed. Sirius shook his head and groaned.

"You kids and your blasted questions," he said in an exhausted but still lighthearted tone. He walked over to the door and closed it quietly before returning to the small circle they had gathered in. He leaned in closely, leaving his black hair to glisten in the sunlight .Hermione couldn't help but think outlandish and inappropriate thoughts as she witnessed the light cast a devastatingly handsome effect on to Sirius' face. His next words came from his mouth in a low and growling whisper.

"He's got a weapon. A secret weapon that he's trying to get to that we have to protect and hide. That's what the Order's got to do. I can't tell you what it is because I know you are an adventure seeking lot and I know you are going to go run off to try to get it first," he told them. Hermione could smell Sirius' scent from her place on the bed. It greatly resembled fresh cinnamon and spiced tea. She inhaled deeply and smiled goofily at the lightheadedness she received. Sirius looked at her curiously after he spoke, seeing her nose scrunch and then a dreamy gaze clouded her face. He stood back up, feeling the eyes of the party in front of him piercing holes in him.

"C'mon Sirius! We aren't going to go after it or anything. We just want to know what it is he's got," Ron pleaded. Sirius shook his head and began to head toward the door.

"You guys have heard way more than you should have. I think that's enough questions for today," he said to them as he gave them a glare that meant 'And I mean it too' right before he left the room. The group gave a collective sigh. Fred chucked a Nosebleed Nougat onto the floor in defeat as he frowned.

"I don't like all this secrecy business they've got going on," Fred complained.

"We're just going to have to try and find out more, little bits at a time. I'm sure if we asked subtle questions here and there we can piece together a little more information," Hermione assured them, while already forming a small plan in her head.

'_I'll try to build up a trust with Sirius over summer. Maybe he'll end up trusting me eventually and will spill a little more to me about what's going on. Getting to know him would also help me possibly get over this stupid sudden attraction to him. I'll try to bond with him to get myself to see he that he's just a friend that happens to be Harry's godfather. That way he will never be anything more to me than that…not that he would want to be anyway,'_

"Sounds good, Hermione. It seems like it's the only chance we've got right about now. And seeing as we've got all summer to find out more stuff it shouldn't be a problem. Alright, well now that that's settled, what do you say we get an intense Wizard's Chess game going?" Ron asked hopefully. The twins nodded eagerly and bound off the bed, leaving the girls to themselves to roll their eyes in unison.

Eventually the day that had started jam packed with excitment quickly turned into one of the most uneventful experiences of Hermione's life.After about fifteen games of Chess, a long chat about the Weasleys business, and dinner ,the girl finally decided to go to bed. She hoped the rest of the summer wouldn't be like this, even though she knew there was something important going on today to be the cause of so many meetings. Mrs. Weasley had warned the children not to go downstairs until they were all over, but apparently they didn't end until 11 o clock that evening. Hermione gave up on hoping to see Sirius one last time before she retired for the evening, and obliged to the thought on going to bed.

* * *

"I hope you'll be off to bed soon, Sirius. We've got a long day a head of us," Molly Weasley said, giving Sirius an affectionate pat on the shoulder. 

"Goodnight. Molly. Thank you again for the wonderful dinner," the ever so charming Sirius Black answered with a slight bow. Molly let out an awkward girlish giggle and blushed.

"Don't be silly, it was nothing really," she told him. He gave her a small wave as she left the dark kitchen to retreat to bed. Sirius sighed and turned his attention to the whistling tea pot in front of him. He was alone at last. All day Sirius had been thrown into meeting after meeting with not one moment of peace to relish in his own thoughts, and now, in the dimly lit kitchen around midnight, he had finally found himself in solitude.

"What a day, what a day," Sirius muttered while pouring the hot, steaming water into a mug. After mixing the powdered tea in, he took a sip and instantly felt his body begin to relax.

"Mmm that's good," Sirius whispered and made his way to the table. He checked his seat before he sat down and to his amusement, he found a patented Weasley Pricking Pin. Sirius picked the small silver needle up with his hands and tossed it onto the table, finally collapsing onto the chair.

'_That damn Severus Snape is going to drive me into the ground, yes he is. I swear, every time he has a summons, he calls about twenty Order meetings the next day to talk about the same information over and over again. Today I felt as if I could have recited his lecture by heart by the time the third meeting rolled around. Insufferable prat. How I wish the Marauders could have finished him off in Hogwarts. That would have made my life a bit more cheerful.'_

Sirius leaned back in his chair, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit in. After many attempts, he gave up and decided these chairs weren't meant to be sat in for long spans of time and since he had sat in this chair for about 8 hours today, he had overstretched their limit. Another sip of tea and Sirius was drawn into another round of thinking, this time feeling a tad guilty about his insults toward Severus.

'_Alright alright. So maybe me and James treated him like a sack of shit when we were younger, big deal. It happens to most kids anyway. I wouldn't be too surprised if that is the reason he's so nasty and crude now. Must be making up for lost time since he was the farthest thing from respected during school. The only words that would have described him then would be have been greasy and scared. _

_I know deep down though that he is a bloody hero even if he doesn't act like one. Even I can't look past everything he has done for the Order; putting his life on the line each time he goes to one of Voldemort's summons. He's been beaten and Crucio-d more times than any of his other followers, yet he still is modest Ugh, now I feel like a git for being a jerk today. Oh well, what did he expect? Me to throw my arms around him and say "Wonderful job chatting it up with Voldy last night, Snapey boy!" '_

Chuckling at his last thought, Sirius finished his tea and sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, basking in calm and desolate atmosphere. His eyes wandered around the kitchen, lingering on the old paintings and photographs that graced the walls. Seeing them caused a sudden impulse within him. He stuck his hand into one of his jacket pockets and moved it around; hoping to locate what it is he was looking for. His hand emerged a second later, holding two pieces of parchment. Sirius unfolded them and gazed at the first causing a wide grin to creep onto his face. In his hand was a frayed and old photograph of the Marauders in their seventh year. Sirius stared at the younger version of himself who was situated in between James and Lupin. His arms were fiercely around both of their necks and were pulling them closer to him while laughing heartily at something he must have found funny. James was looking into the camera, smiling broadly, piercing the photograph with his chiseled face and unruly hair. To his left, Peter stood uneasily with a nervous smile on his face. He seemed to be trying to get out of the picture, but James' arm was tugging on his collar to draw him closer to the other boys. On Sirius' other side, Lupin stood, giving him a reprimanding stare. Apparently he did not find his joke too funny, but he eventually the turned his face to give the camera a picture perfect smile with his large wolfish teeth.

"Gods I miss you, James," Sirius said quietly into the night, staring at James' face in the picture. He felt a tightening in his chest and noticed the familiar feeling of tears rushing to his eyes. He put the picture down onto the table and buried his face in his hands, fighting back the stinging tears.

'_Why'd you have to die, mate? It's entirely my fault, I made that damn rat your secret keeper. I caused you and Lily to die! What kind of friend was I? I never meant for any of that to happen, James. You were the closest thing I had to a real brother, not counting that Slytherin-boasting Regulus. You were like my other half, Prongs. Every second I spent at Hogwarts was practically with you by my side. Even after we'd graduated, I was at your house more than my own. Why'd life have to turn out like this? Why did you, such an innocent and good man have to leave us all? I haven't been the same since you've gone. I lost my other half that night you died. _

_I figured I'd try to repay you as best as I could by killing that damn Peter Pettigrew and by caring for your boy. The truth is I'm scared to raise your son. I don't want to mess up and raise him the wrong way, especially knowing you would have done a fantastic job. Somehow thought, he's grown to care for me. He reminds me of you so much, James.. He's doesn't just looked like you but hes got that adventurous personality as well. His trust in people is great, so much like yours. That's what bothers me though, the fact that he always thinks the best of his friends. You did that and look what happened. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to Harry. Keeping him safe is how I plan on repaying you for all the things you've done for me, and the terrible things I've done for you. I will take care of him, for you and for dear Lily.'_

Sirius carefully picked his face up out of his hands, feeling the warm trickle of tears drip down onto the table. He wiped his face with his sleeve and took a long breath. He always fell apart like this when he thought of James. Trying to get his mind off of it for now, he picked up the second piece of paper that was under the first. This paper was also a photograph, but its edges were not frayed and the colors shown quite brightly. The picture he held now was fairly recent. Sirius beamed down at the faces of Harry, Ron, and Hermione that lay in his hand. The picture was taken last summer by Mrs. Weasley at the Burrow after they returned home from a great big picnic. The lopsided and askew house was plainly visible in the background. In front of it, Harry stood on the left, smiling cheekily at the camera, looking as if soon his face would fall off. Next to him, Ron stood tall and lanky, his face turned to the side and his mouth was moving, obviously trying to talk to someone outside the frame. Hermione was on his other side, poking his shoulder trying to get him to turn around and face the camera. She gave up after a few prods and turned her own face to the lens, smiling brightly.

"Way to destroy a lovely picture, Ron," Sirius laughed, staring at it again. He turned his attention back to his Godson on the left, feeling a rush of pride run through his vains. That boy had taken to be exactly like his dad, always getting into trouble, taking on dangerous adventures. Sirius couldn't help but feel overwhelming admiration for him. Harry was the closest thing to a son he had and probably would ever have and he hoped Harry looked up to him too.

Sirius smiled at the boy and then briefly looked sideways at Ron. Sirius couldn't lie about the fact that Ron usually acted dimwitted and reckless. He didn't use logic to think things through and he pretty much went along with whatever hare brained scheme Harry thought of. This wasn't exactly the greatest method of going about things. He had hoped Ron would be more responsible to make up for Harry's knack of adventure but that was obviously out of the question. Regardless, Sirius still cared about the Weasley boy. He reminded him of himself in some ways, especially his funny humor and lightheartedness. Ron was sort of like Sirius' nephew. Ron and Harry combined made Sirius feel like he had a family, a true family, not the sad excuse of Bellatrix Lestrange as a relative. The boys were good kids and great people, and Sirius was blessed to have them in his life.

"Ah, but of course, the lovely Hermione Granger," Sirius mused to himself, gazing at the last figure in the picture. He grinned when he watched her continuously try to get Ron to pay attention to the camera, but gave up in frustration, still putting on the most dazzling smile out of the three. Sirius felt a warm feeling crash over his body when he directed his thinking to her.

'_Such a smart witch, that Hermione is. Never met anyone like her that cares about school and learning so much. Thank god though because without that girl, Harry would be off doing who knows what. She keeps the boys in line and saves their neck with the spells and information she has up in her head. The girl is mature, way more than the others. She carries herself differently, knowing the terrors and faults in this world, but she doesn't make herself seem vulnerable. She is strong, courageous, and beautiful. That girl…she's bloody amazing.'_

Startled at his confession about the girl, Sirius dropped the photograph onto the table in a flash. His breathing was shallow as he shook his head, trying to shed himself of the image of Hermione's face that kept popping into his head.

"She's just a girl," he muttered out loud, his eyes dancing over to the picture once again. He sighed as he picked it up one last time, taking a good look at Hermione. For some reason, he couldn't place her into his makeshift family like he could Ron and Harry. He never felt like Hermione was his daughter or niece. She was wise beyond her years, and in a way, that made her different in Sirius' eyes. In the picture, she reminded Sirius of a young mother, trying to get her children to pay attention to something; especially with the way she seemed to be scolding Ron. Sirius smiled, briefly imagining her reprimanding a young little boy that looked exactly like a small version of Sirius, but with Hermione's brown, honey eyes.

"What the hell am I thinking?" Sirius gasped, putting his hands in his hair. These thoughts were by far too inappropriate and far fetched. This simply could not continue, especially with him living in the same home as her all summer. He had to find a way to stop thinking about her in his new light.

'_I've got it! I'll attempt to spend a lot of time with her during the summer in order to learn more about her and her personality. Once I begin to understand her, maybe I can start to look at her as more of my niece. Probably after I spend a lot of time with her, I'll become sick of her and will no longer harbor these odd thoughts and feelings. My physically attraction to her would also die away once I regard her as one of my "family.'_

Sirius nodded his head and slapped a hand on the oak table. His plan was foolproof and he knew it. All he had to do was get her alone for a couple hours a few times during every week. He was sure these feelings would disappear shortly after he got to know her true demeanor.

Grinning, obviously satisfied with his wit, he rose from the table and muttered a spell causing the lights to extinguish themselves. He grabbed the pictures off the table and carefully placed them back into his pocket, making his way up the stairs and into his bedroom.

* * *

Little did Hermione and Sirius know that in their own separate beds, they both were falling asleep thinking of their plans to befriend the other. Hermione smiled in her sleep and turned over onto her side, dreaming of Sirius divulging the Orders greatest secrets to her over tea. At the same time, Sirus' chest rose and fell with the thoughts of Hermione and himself going on small day trips with the other boys to the park as their own dysfunctional family. 

_But neither of the two sleeping figures could predict the events that would unfold as the summer wore on._

_No one could have ever predicted something so powerful and strong as love to blossom._


	5. Childish Antics

**Hey again everyone. I've got another chapter for you. I'm hoping I can write these chapters fairly quickly because I've already outlined the story. It's just a matter of writing it now, haha. I don't plan on changing anything because of Deathly Hallows. The only influence the book is having is in my description of Sirius and his bedroom. Alright enjoy!**

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** To Love a Marauder**

The next day started out bright and early for the residents of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Just as the sun began to rise, Molly Weasley was knocking on door after door to wake everyone up.

"Ginny! Hermione! Time to get up girls, we have quite a lot of work today," Mrs. Weasley trilled as she opened up the door and walked into the two girls' room.

"Mum, the sun hasn't even come up yet, five more minutes," Ginny mumbled, snuggling deeper within her blankets. Hermione, who was lying in the bed next to her, slowly rose to a sitting position.

"We have loads of things to do girls which means I need you both up and dressed. You have twenty minutes, and then I expect you downstairs with the others," Mrs. Weasley said in a sergeant like tone. She walked over to Ginny's bed and grabbed the covers in both hands, whipping the sheets off her daughter.

"I said up!" she scolded. Ginny opened her eyes and glared at her mother.

"Fine, fine. We're up already," an annoyed Ginny said as she swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Good, now get dressed. I have to go wake up the boys' and Sirius too," Mrs. Weasley told them as she walked out of the door leaving the two girls half awake on their beds.

"What work are we supposed to do?" Hermione asked Ginny, rising up from her bed. She went to her trunk and grabbed a few things she needed for her shower.

"Cleaning I'm guessing. This house is a disaster," Ginny pointed out, staring at the deteriorating walls that surrounded their room. Hermione paused to sweep a glance at the room as well.

"Yeah, you're spot on about that," Hermione commented. She double checked that she had all her things : clothing, hairbrush, toothbrush, and a bit of lip gloss.

"Alright Gin, I'm going to take a quick shower. Meet you downstairs," Hermione told her and headed out the door into the hallway. When she had reached the bathroom door, she rose a hand to it and knocked.

"Anyone in there?" she asked. Putting her ear up to the door ,she listened for a reply but there came none. Shrugging, she pushed open the door and walked in to the empty bathroom.

'_This bathroom is a mess. The sink's cracked, the toilet looks a bit scary, and the shower curtains broken. How long has it been since someone's cleaned this?'_

Sighing, Hermione peeled off her clothing and turned the handle on the rusty shower spigot. Once she had thought the water to be adequately warm, she stepped inside to take her shower, hoping it would wake her up.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few doors down from the girls' bedroom, Mrs. Weasley was initiating her early morning wakeup call on a Mr Sirius Black; much to his dismay. 

"Sirius! Sirius, it's time to get up," Molly rapped on his door. Inside the room, Sirius was dead alseep, currently having a dream about a familiar bushy haired Grimmauld Place resident.

"Are you hearing me?" the woman said again, waiting for a reply. The other side of the door was silent.

"You better be dressed because I'm coming in!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, deciding to abandon her patience. After hearing no response again from the inhibitor of the room, she muttered _Alohamora _and barged inside. She took a quick glimpse of the fairly large room that was splattered with Gryffindor banners, Muggle girls in bikinis, and various motorcycles. She rolled her eyes at his decoration and continued to look around. Her eyes landed on the bed where Sirius appeared to be having a pleasant dream.

"You look gorgeous, love," he muttered, in his sleep. Mrs. Weasley cocked an eyebrow, and stood still for a moment hoping to catch another bit of Sirius' dream.

"I don't deserve you…. You're young…innocent…," he mumbled, snuggling deeper within his black and silver sheets.

"Rise and shine Mr. Black," Mrs. Weasley finally demanded once she had decided she'd heard enough. She waved her wand and a glass of water on the nightstand floated dangerously above Sirius' head.

"One more chance Sirus," she warned. Instead of getting up, he turned over onto his side and mumbled something sounding like "Pain in the arse."

"That's it!" Molly yelled. With another angry wave of her wand, the glass tipped itselft over spilling its contents onto the sleeping man.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" a drenched Sirius replied, as he shot up in bed, looking around the room with a frantic expression.

"Good, now you're awake. Get dressed and come downstairs. We begin cleaning the house today," Mrs. Weasley told him, with a profound smirk on her face. She turned on her heels and headed out he door leaving Sirius fuming.

"Damn that crazy woman," Sirius muttered as he rose from his bed. He yawned and stretched his arms, taking a second to reminisce on the pleasant dream he was having before he was so rudely awakened.

"_You look gorgeous, love. You really you do," I said to her as she descended the worn staircase to meet me at the bottom. Her brown hair was pulled up in an intricate twist with a few pieces falling out. She wore a small black dress that hung perfectly on her body, topped off with a black pendant necklace that fell low to her chest. It was truly a vision to behold, one so beautiful that I felt unworthy to witness. As she reached the bottom stair, she took a moment to survey my appearance. I looked down to see what I was wearing. I donned a pair of black trousers and a dark grey button up shirt. My hair was falling into my eyes and I could feel that I was freshly shaven. Apparently I must have looked presentable because a grin graced Hermione's face as she finished her inspection._

"_You look amazing, Sirius," she whispered. I smiled at her and I extended my hand for her to take. Hermione grasped it and paused for a moment at the door. Her small hand fit perfectly into mine and I stopped walking._

"_Thank you for taking me out to dinner tonight in advance. Spending time with you is all I really want, none of this fancy dining you offer," she said to me with her head hung low. I reached out and tilted her chin upwards._

"_This is the by far the least I can do. I'm so thankful you even decided to come.I don't deserve you, Hermione. You're young, and you have your whole life ahead of you. As you can see, I'm not the young man I use to be. I've faced so many hardships that have broken me down, but you…you're too innocent to have to deal someone like me," I said to her, staring into her honey brown eyes. _

"_I love you just the way you are," she murmured, drawing close to meet my lips. The gap was quickly closing when all of a sudden, water gushed onto my head._

"Ruined a great dream, you did," Sirius growled as he stripped off his shirt and stepped out of his boxers. Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it around his waist, and head out of his room to the bathroom.

'_That dream about Hermione wasn't supposed to happen. I thought I wanted to get to know her to be like her uncle, not her bloody dinner date. My gods, I don't think I am going to be able to look at the girl today without remembering that dream.'_

Reaching the bathroom door, Sirius raised his arm up to knock when to his surprise the door swung open revealing the very girl his thoughts were focused on.

"Morning, 'Mione," Sirius grinned at the sopping wet girl. Her hair was drenched with water, obviously not having enough time to dry it. She wore gray cotton string pants that hung low on her hips and a black t-shirt. The only trace of makeup on her face was a bit of clear lip gloss. Hermione was easily considered a natural beauty.

"Morning to you too, Sirius. Bathroom's all yours," she squeaked back. Before leaving however,Hermione couldn't help but stop to oogle the man in front of her. His black hair was dripping wet as beads of water gushed onto his face. His grey eyes were piercing, flooded with warmth. He wore nothing but a white towel on his waist, leaving his muscular chest exposed. Hermione's eyes drifted over the tattoos that decorated his chest. His eyes found hers and she immediately blushed.

"I'll s-see you later," she stammered, rushing to the staircase. Sirius turned and watched her flee in embarrassment. He couldn't help but smirk to himself, thinking of her visual raid of his body.

'_Oh my gods…what did I do?! He's going to think I'm a nutter for looking at him like that. I made a damn fool of myself, aghhh. How am I going to be able to look him in the eye now let alone gain his trust when he thinks I have some silly school girl crush on him? Merlin's beard, what have I done.'_

"OI, Hermione!" the unmistakable voice of Ron called out from behind. Hermione turned around from the bottom of the staircase to see Ron clambering down after her. Once he caught up to her, he smiled drowsily.

"Lovely morning to be woken up at the crack of dawn, isn't it?" he asked her rolling his eyes. Hermione chuckled as she took in his disheveled appearance. His red hair was all over the place and his shirt was half tucked in. Obviously, he was no morning person.

"Oh, stop complaining. Your mum needs help and it's the least we can do. It's not like we aren't doing anything else all day," Hermione lied through her teeth. Secretly, she wished nothing more than to be back in bed sleeping peacefully.

"You're mental if you want to spend the day slaving away working," he commented as they walked toward the kitchen. She shrugged her shoulders and pushed open the door in front of them.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you; why were you running down the stairs so fast? I had to bloody run to catch up with you," Ron questioned. Hermione felt her heart race as they stopped in middle of the kitchen.

'_I can't tell him it's because I saw Sirius practically naked in front of me…and liked it! He'll blow his top if I said that. Maybe I should say I saw a spider. That's perfect!'_

"For your information, I saw a spider and I was running downstairs to ask your mum if she could kill it," Hermione said smoothly as she sat herself down at the table. Mrs. Weasley, who was twirling her wand cooking breakfast, laughed heartily.

"Hermione, since when are you scared of spiders?" she asked her.

"I'm not exactly scared of them."

"Then why were you running away from it?" the Weasley mother persisted. Hermione shifted her body weight under the glare she was receiving.

"It was pretty big, and uh ...I wanted you to kill it before Ron saw it," she explained quickly. The answer seemed to satisfy Mrs. Weasley as she returned to cooking.Ron looked at Hermione happily from across the table.

"Awww you're an angel," he laughed. Hermione relaxed once she realized her lie had worked. She picked up the cup of pumpkin juice in front of her and took a sip.

"It's so bloody early!" two voices in unison proclaimed from the doorway. Hermione put her cup down to see a very tired looking Fred and George slump into the kitchen.

"Deal with it," Mrs. Weasley shot back as she levitated trays of food to the table. The twins sat down next to Ron and began to grab food off the trays.

"Why do you look so awake?" Fred asked Hermione, while chomping down on a piece of toast. She looked at him and took a muffin off one of the trays.

"I'm use to waking up fairly early," she replied , taking a bite into her muffin.

"Morning, Gin" George called out in-between bites of scrambled eggs. Hermione glanced over toward the doorway to see Ginny sulking into the kitchen, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Morning everyone," she mumbled, sliding into the chair next to Hermione.

"Still sleepy?" Hermione laughed, nudging Ginny with her elbow. Ginny scowled back, hastily shoving a breakfast pastry into her mouth.

"I wonder where that lazy oaf Sirius is," Mrs. Weasley pondered out loud as she poured more juice into the children's cups.

"That lazy oaf you speak of has arrived," an irritated voice from the doorway announced. The occupants of the table looked up to see Sirius standing by the door. Mrs. Weasley blushed furiously and hustled to put a cup of tea by Sirius' seat.

"I guess shes assembled the troops for battle," Sirius said in a low voice as he sat down. Everyone at the table gave a collective sigh.

"I wonder why she woke you up too," Ron said to Sirius, polishing off his third slice of toast.

"So I can help you lot clean. I don't do anything in the house when there isn't a meeting. I'm not allowed to leave," Sirius replied, helping him self to a roll. He noticed Hermione trying desperately to avoid looking in his direction.

'_She must be horribly embarrassed about running into me earlier. I don't see why though, it could happen to anyone. I guess she figures I noticed her looking at me rather peculiarly… which is true. She probably was just taken aback, nothing worth wasting my thoughts over. It's not like she finds me attractive… I must be practically ancient according to her standards.'_

"Hurry up and finish eating, we've got a long day ahead of us and a lot of work to do," Mrs. Weasley said with a big smile. Hermione figured she must enjoy housework immensely to be happy at 7 AM.

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In compliance with Mrs. Weasley's request, breakfast ended quickly with barely any words spoken aside from the occasional complaint or protest made by one of the Weasley's boys. Once everyone was finished, they were ushered into the living room by Molly and were standing in front of her, awaiting their tasks. 

"Alright, today as you already know, we will be cleaning and fixing up the house," Mrs. Weasley stated, looking at the children and Sirius.

"I am going to divide you into groups and will assign you a room to begin cleaning today. It will probably take a few weeks to completely finish the entire house, but we might as well start now," she told them. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

"First pair will be myself and Ginny. We will be cleaning the living room we're in now."

"Next will be Fred, George and Ron. You boys will be assigned the downstairs hallway and the walls going up the stairs," she told them. Hermione felt a lump in her throat as she realized she would be left alone with Sirius.

"Finally Hermione and Sirius will be in charge of the first upstairs guest room," Mrs. Weasley finished, putting her list back into her pocket. With a clap of her hands she dismissed everyone to begin their descent into cleaning hell. The group broke apart and scattered to go their seperate ways,

"Hello partner," Sirius smiled to Hermione as they left the living room together. She gathered up her Gryffindor courage and smiled back.

"I suppose the rooms a mess?" she asked Sirius; trying to remain calm and composed, pushing this mornings ordeal aside. He scrunched his nose and nodded his head.

"Disaster."

"Oh, sounds like an adventure," Hermione laughed as they reached the stairs. Sirius motioned for her to go up first as he brought up the rear.

"It's not that bad now that I think about it. It's mostly a bunch of boxes of old things that need to be sorted and thrown out," he told her.

"That means we get to go through your old things?" Hermione inquired with a smirk. Sirius lightly pushed her up the last step and walked ahead of her to the door, pausing before he turned the knob.

"You'll be surprised at what I've collected over the years," he said to her with a wink. Hermione felt herself slowly become at ease. Talking to Sirius wasn't hard at all, it was actually pleasant and carefree.

"Welcome to our adventure," he announced with open arms. Hermione's jaw dropped open as her eyes fell upon stacks of boxes that covered the room. There must have been at least 30 huge brown tattered boxes that went from floor to ceiling, giving little room to walk.

"We've got our work cut out for us," she commented and walked to the nearest pile.

"Right you are, Hermione," Sirius said as he grabbed a box off the first pile and placed it on the floor in front of him.

"I guess we should go through the things in each box and throw whatever is useless and unwanted into a pile. I'll cast the Disintegrating Charm on it when we're done," he instructed. Hermione picked up a box next to her as well.

"I don't really know what you want to get rid of though. Should I just ask you?" Hermione questioned. Sirius stopped for a moment and seemed to ponder it. He looked at her and shrugged.

"I trust you to get rid of whatever you think I won't want," he said with a grin.

"Sounds good to me," she responded and sat on the floor cross legged to begin dispensing the objects from the first box. She pulled out a various rusted mugs, old knick knacks that seemed broken beyond repair, a few battered issues of the Daily Prophet, and some damaged silverware. She took great care in examining each object to determine whether or not it was still of use before throwing into the pile Sirius had already started.

"You're like a garbage machine!" Hermione laughed as she watched him barely glancing at each object in his box before tossing it into the pile. He looked over at her to see her watching him with amusement. His hand felt a soft, and badly ripped apart stuffed dragon in his box and he chucked it over at Hermione. It hit her square in the face, bouncing off at impact. She gasped and shook her finger at him.

"You watch where you're throwing that Mr. Sirius Black!" she said playfully, grabbing the dragon and throwing it back at him. He stuck out his tongue a little as he raised his arm high to catch it by the tail.

"Nice catch," Hermione nodded and complimented him. He did a small bow before tossing the dragon into the growing pile.

"Why thank you Miss Granger," he said, reaching back into his box to continue his sorting.

"You've sure got a lot of junk," Hermione said a few minutes later. Sirius tossed the pieces of a broken broom into the pile and turned to face her in sitting position.

"My mum wasn't one for throwing things out; she usually kept everything she ever bought. Didn't like to see things go to waste," he explained to her, throwing some more things away. Hermione picked up a big piece of paper and rose one of her eyebrows.

"I'm assuming this belongs to you?" she asked him with a sly grin, turning the paper over so Sirius could see it. He couldn't contain his laughter as she revealed to him a poster of a musical group called The Wizard's Way. The men in the picture wore silver sparkly robes with neon colored stars sewn into them. Their hair was sprayed up in wacky looking styles and they were clad in vibrant makeup.

"Guilty as charged," Sirius told her, raising a hand. Hermione looked at the poster again and began to hoot with laughter.

"What were you thinking, having this on your wall?" she managed to say once the laughter subsided.

"They were really popular when I was in my sixth year at Hogwarts. I mean, they may look a bit odd, but their music was pretty good," Sirius answered her. She stuck out her bottom lip and held the poster out to him.

"Are you willing to part with such a treasure?" she said sarcastically, smirking all over the place. Sirius grabbed the rolled up poster out of hand and bopped her on the head with it.

"Hey!" Hermione yelped, rubbing her head. Sirius laughed and flashed her one of his trademark smiles.

"What? You insulted my childhood!" he said in defense. Hermione scowled, and started digging through her current box to continue sorting. Sirius threw the poster into the discard pile, causing Hermione to look up to see the dissapointment on his face.

"I knew you'd come to your senses," she joked, slapping him playfully on the arm. Sirius grabbed the hand that slapped his arm and held it above her.

"Oh no you don't. I won't be manhandled in my own home!" he said, getting up onto his knees and taking Hermione's other wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked him. He let go of her other wrist and brought his hand to her side and began tickling her.

"Aha! I've got you now," Sirius cried triumphantly as Hermione giggled uncontrollably, trying to swat away his hand, using minimal effort.

"S-s-stop! Sirius, you're crazy, I can't b-breathe!" she said through gasps of air. Sirius eventually let go of her and went back to his sitting position, watching her laughter die out as she paused to catch her breath. Sitting up slowly she pointed a finger at him.

"You are going to get it, you watch," she said threateningly, even though she was smiling broadly.

'_She looks radiant when she smiles. I wish I could make her smile like that all the time…**what?!** Gods, this plan to get to know her isn't working too well. I'm bloody flirting and tickling a teengager. This is so wrong; I've got to stop this madness.'_

"I'll be sure to be on the lookout," Sirius told her, and threw a few more things into the pile. He had already done about three boxes and was already sick of this. About five more boxes later, he reached the end of his rope.

"This is hell," he stated after tossing away his old owl cage. Hermione nodded in agreement, throwing a cracked picture frame into the stack.

"Too true," she agreed, Sirius put the box he was emptying aside and looked up at his female assistant. She seemed to be staring at something within her box intently.

"Anything important?" he asked her, brushing some stray hair out of his eyes. She looked up at him and lifted a heavy book up.

"What's this? Its an empty book," she told him, flipping through the blank pages of the thick, black book. Sirius' eyes widened when he realized what she was holding and felt his heart thump rapidly. He scooted over to Hermione in a flash and took the book excitedly from her hands.

"I can't believe you found this!" he exclaimed, running his hand over the hard cover. She looked at him quizzically and placed her hand on the book.

"What is it exactly?" she questioned. He turned to look at her, his grey eyes beaming.

"I thought it was lost, I've been looking for it everywhere," he said gratefully, dismissing her question and turning his attention back to the book. Hermione watched as he pulled his wand out of his pocket and tapped the cover.

"Padfoot would like to report his mischief," he muttered. Instantly, silver writing became visible on the cover and Hermione leaned over his shoulder to read it.

_Marauders Padfoot, Moony, Prongs & Wormtail Present:_

_ The Great Book of Mischievous Pranks, and Tales_

"Mischievous pranks and tales?" Hermione said quirking an eyebrow. Sirius' smile seemed to grow wider by the second as he quickly flipped the book open.

"We made this back when we first met and started doing pranks. We wanted to write down all the stuff we did so we can look back on it for laughs later," Sirius said. He opened up to a random page that was now no longer blank, but filled with sloppy writing. Sirius' eyes scanned the page rapidly .Hermione watched as he seemed to radiate with glee the more he read. She couldn't help but notice how young he looked at this moment. He did not resemble the tired, mussed up man that she met her third year, but the youthful, handsome man that she had never known during his childhood.

"Could you read me one of the entries?" Hermione asked him quietly. Sirius took his eyes off the page and looked at the girl sitting next to him. He could smell her vanilla shampoo wafting from her hair as he inhaled. She seemed eager to learn about his past with his friends and he was more than willing to tell her.

"Of course I can. I can read you a bunch of them if you'd like," he offered her. She nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Yes, please. I'd love to hear about you and the Marauders," she glowed. He smiled at her and flipped through the pages to find a good story to begin with when he heard the loud yelling of Mrs. Weasley from downstairs.

"Lunch timeeverybody! "she called. Hermione rose both of her eyebrows.

"Wow, that went by awfully fast," she said, with a hint of disappointment in her voice. Sirius got to his feet first and offered her his hand to help her up. She took it ,causing familiar chill to run of his spine.

'_Her hand feels exactly like it did in my dream. Small and soft…a perfect fit.'_

"Thanks. I guess we better go before she gets antsy," Hermione said, reluctantly letting go of his hand. She turned to head out the door but stopped when she heard Sirius clearing his throat. She spun around and tilted her head to the side, wondering what he wanted to say.

"Hermione, I can you know…read you the stories later if you'd like. In the library tonight perhaps?" he asked her. She stood in shock for a moment, causing an elongated pause. Sirius quickly shook his head and laughed awkwardly.

"Never mind, it was silly of me –"he started to say but Hermione cut him off.

"I'll see you tonight then," she interrupted, feeling a nervous sensation in her stomach. Sirius ran a hand through his hair and smiled at her.

"Great, I look forward to it. Now, after you Miss Granger," he said to her as he let her exit the door first. They both headed downstairs with an extra spring in their steps, smiling madly to themselves.

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By the way, Review please! And anyone wanting to discuss DH can hit me up on aim at Missmelzx


	6. Winks and Wrestling

**I'm flying with these updates! I know you probably want to hear some of the stories in theMarauder book, but that will come next chapter so stay tuned **

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**To Love a Marauder**

Lunch following Sirius and Hermione's subtle flirtation over cleaning happened to be dreadfully uneventful. To Sirius' misfortune, Ginny was busy chatting animatedly with Hermione about some beauty tips she had read in Witch's Weekly, a terribly vapid teenage girl's magazine. Hermione couldn't help but respond to the young Weasley's enthusiasm, even though her mind was dabbling in much different thoughts...thoughts concerning a handsome wizard sitting across from her.

"So do you think the Clearicus Charm will help with small blemishes?" Ginny pressed to her bushy haired friend. Hermione, who was staring blissfully at her tea, had not been paying attention to a word the red head had said in the last minute or two. Her fake interest in the conversation had shriveled away and she had succumbed to swim in her thoughts.

'_Could this plan possibly be going any worse? I'm supposed to be trying to find out information for Harry's benefit and instead I'm flirting it up with his godfather. Merlin, Sirius must think my teenage hormones are going crazy if I've stooped to the level of toying with a man almost twice my age. It's pathetic, thats what it is. Me, Hermione Granger, becoming attracted to convict Sirius Black. What bollocks.'_

"Hermione?" Ginny asked when noticing her lack of response regarding the question she had just presented to her. Hermione seemed to hear her name amidst her foggy ponderings and snapped her head up from over the tea cup.

"Huh, what…did you say something?" she tried to hide the fact that she was caught off guard, not paying attention to a word that was said to her.

"I asked you if you thought the Clearicus Charm would work on blemishes," Ginny repeated , this time looking at Hermione with raised eyebrows. She silently wondered what was on the mind of her witty friend that caused her to completely space out. Hermione gave Ginny a wary smile, hoping to hide the fact that she was utterly flustered.

"I suppose it would work if used properly. It's not a very strong charm, but I'm assuming it would be effective on fairly small blemishes and minor cases of acne," Hermione figured as she felt her self rising to the top of her game. Even though she had thoroughly composed herself ; she made sure to keep her flickering eyes away from Sirus' direction. He had been awkwardly quiet for quite some time and it was causing nervousness in the Gryffindor lioness.

"You'll have to perform it on me later then. I'm not too confident when it comes to casting spells for the first time…especially one on myself," Ginny told her. Hermione shook her head in agreement, stirring her tea absent mindedly.

"I'm fairly sure that Miss Granger here will be able to leave you with a blemish free face, theres no doubt about that," the husky voice of Sirius Black annoucned, his silent vigil now broken. Hermione looked up at him to see his twinkling grey eyes complimenting her. She blushed furiously and cleared her throat.

"Why thank you Sirius, that's awfully nice of you to say, but I'm afraid that even I mess up spells the first time I do them," Hermione replied modestly. Ginny pushed her lightly on the shoulder and giggled.

"Yeah right, Herms. You were practically born to do this stuff," the Weasley said. Sighing, Hermione decided it best not to argue with the girl because it would only result in more flattery which she was incapable of accepting. She did however, find the courage to look up from her tea and survey the empty table she sat at that now only held her, Ginny and Sirius. The other three Weasley boys had finished their food so fast that Molly insisted they come help her clean the living room. Hermione didn't feel like waiting anymore for Mrs.Weasley to come collect them in the kitchen, so she decided to help out with the cleanup of dinner.

"Are you finished with your plates?" she asked Ginny and Sirius. They both looked down at their empty platters and nodded.

"Jeez, are you that excited to continue cleaning?" Ginny said exasperatedly as Hermione leaned forward to collect their dishes. Ginny quickly got up from her seat and tpicked up her plate as well as Hermione and Sirius'.

"I'll finish the dishes; you two can go back to cleaning. I'd rather do this then have to deal with Mum anyway," she told them walking over to the sink. Hermione looked at Sirius and shrugged.

"Shall we?" she proposed to Sirius. Hermione took a second to mediate on how easily she became relaxed with him the instant Ginny had left. He held up a finger to signify 'one moment' and picked up his cup to drain the rest of his tea. Once he had determined it fully empty, he slapped it on the table and stuck out his arm in mockery.

"We shall, M'lady," he said, waiting for Hermione to link arms with him. Hermione took the offered arm and laughed lightly, trying to ignore the electric shocks running through her body as a result of his mere touch. She subconsciously inhaled the familiar aroma of cinnamon and spice that Sirius emitted and smiled to herself.

'_He is probably the best smelling dog in London. Scratch that, in the bloody world.'_

When she came back down from her cloud, she realized they had stopped in front of the staircase. Sirius was looking at her quite peculiarly, taking heed that she had been enthralled in her thoughts. He gestured her forward.

"I don't think we can climb the stairs like this," he commented quietly, referring to their linked arms. Hermione shook her head and felt yet another blush rise to her cheeks. She hastily detangled their arms.

"All better. Now you go on ahead. You're always letting me go through doors and walk up stairs first,," Hermione said firmly, swatting away his drawn hand. He smiled and leaned against the wall.

"Ah, I take it you aren't use to being around a true gentleman then?" he asked her, his eyes glistening with amusement. She opened her mouth to speak but paused instead.

'_I guess being around Ron and Harry doesn't exactly count as being with gentlemen. In fact, they are the complete opposite. It will truly be a historical moment when Ron holds a door open for me, let alone walking up a staircase first.'_

"No…I guess I haven't been around the type of boys I would consider gentlemen," she confessed, watching Sirius bark with laughter as she spoke. Hermione wasn't exactly sure what was so funny, but she took the liberty in admiring his laugh. It was deep,throaty, sincere and **terribly** attractive.

"I'm sorry," he managed to say once his laughter subsided. He sputtered out a cough and wiped his eyes of any stray tears that had formed due to his laughter.

"I just pictured this image of Harry and Ron in top hats and dress robes, acting like high class society; sipping tea with their pinkies up,using walking canes and all that goodness," Sirius mused. Hermione couldn't help but grin when she pictured that image in her head. It was possibly the silliest thing she could picture the boys doing and it made her understand perfectly well why Sirius found it so entertaining.

"Well, now that you've put a lovely picture in my head," Hermione started up the stairs, "I think we should be getting back to work."

"Do we have to?" Sirius said from behind her in an upset whine. Hermione thought for a split second that he sounded just like he would twenty years ago. She turned around once she reached the top stair to face him.

"What, you don't want to spend time with me?" she asked him with a fake pout. Once the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted them. What she ha said , in her opinion, made her sound like a silly little girl clamoring for the affections of a young boy. It was nothing like the intelligent witch she truly was. Meanwhile, as Hermione inwardly cursed herself, Sirus was taken aback at her posed question.

'_That doesn't sound like something Hermione would normally say. It's so …flirtacious and spontaneous. Gods, the worsts part is that I think I liked it.'_

"I didn't mean—"she tried covering up her damage but was stopped by Sirius. He bounded up the final step to find himself face to face with her.

"I would _**love**_ to spend some time with you, "he said to her in a low and breathy voice. Hermione felt her knees buckle as she struggled to remain calm and confident. The air between them seemed to be limited, Hermione observed, as she tried to clear her head. Finally, she stood up a little taller and looked into his eyes, forcing herself to act in total seriousness.

"Well then you will have to….catch me first!" she squealed her last words and turned around to flee down the hallway. Sirius eyes widened for a moment and he shook his head in a weak attempt to dislodge the shivery feeling that plagued him ten seconds ago. However, he didn't miss a beat once he came to his senses and he took off down the hallway running after her.

"Got you!" Sirius exclaimed once he sprinted into the spare room they were cleaning. He had expected to see Hermione on the floor, catching her breath but she was not there. He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. The only noise he could hear was his own panting as he spun slowly in a circle in the middle of the room.

"'Mione?" he asked the emptiness.

No response

'_Where the hell did she go?'_

"I guess I'm just going to have to sit here and clean **all by myself**," he emphasized his last words as he sat down onto the floor. Sirus did nothing for a few seconds, hoping his statement would draw Hermione out into the open. However, a whole minute later, he had determined that she was not in the room and he resumed his sorting.

"Old wand, broken plate, shredded robes," he muttered out loud, throwing the objects into the pile in front of him.

"Mismatched socks, moldy Floo Powder vase, "he continued, tossing these things in as well.

"Useless textbook," he added, picking up the book to throw into the pile.

"ARE YOU MAD!" a high pitched voice shrieked and the frazzled figure of Hermione lept out from behind a stack of boxes to tackle Sirius. He gasped in shock as she wrestled the books out of his hand.

"You scared the living hell out of me!" Sirius yelled, clutching his chest. His heart was pounding rapidly, but in his head he had an inkling that it wasn't because he was scared. It was because Hermione was currently sprawled onto him, keeping him pinned to the floor.

"How can you throw out a perfectly fine textbook?" she said furiously, untangling herself from Sirius and moving away back to the seat on the floor she had claimed earlier. Sirius got up and threw his arms up in the air.

"Maybe because it's a bloody Divination book that I don't plan on using any day soon," he shot back in a harsh voice. His chest clenched as he felt himself wishing he hadn't spoken in that tone. Hermione turned a shocking color of red and looked down at the book in her lap, her mouth opening slightly.

"Oh….D-D-Divination?...I'm so sorry, Sirius," she whispered at a barely distinguishable level. Her eyes looked up and met his. Sirius was certain that she was about to cry, and he bit his lip.

"Look, Hermione I didn't mean to yell at you. I was just a little pissed that you scared me like that," he told her softly, giving her a small grin. She looked down at the book again and sniffled.

"You did a good job though, nearly thought I would have a heart attack," he said kindly, with a small chuckle. He reached out and touched her arm lightly causing her to look up. She seemed to relax a bit and picked up the textbook in her lap.

"I didn't mean it. I just wanted to jump out and scare you…but when you said you were going to throw a book out I got a little….carried away," she garbled, giving him an innocent look at the end. Sirius felt an odd flip-flop in his stomach as he looked at her quivering lip.

"No big deal. I know how you are about your precious books," he teased. She pretended to scowl, but then tossed the book into the pile.

"As long as you're chucking Divination books, I've got no worries," Hermione laughed.

At the sound of her laughter, the atmosphere in the room once again became calm and light hearted. Sirius couldn't help but feel terrible for the way he had acted towards her. She didn't mean him any harm in scaring him, it was just a small practical joke. And Sirius more than anyone else knew a thing or two about practical jokes. He went back to sorting the boxes with Hermione as they chatted easily about Hogwarts in the past and present. It was surprising to him at how effortless it was to converse with the young girl. She seemed interested in almost everything he had to say, and he realized that she wasn't at all uptight or stuffy about her studies. She was generally fascinated by learning, and that made Sirius gain even more admiration toward her.

* * *

Soon, the minutes turned into hours and the stack of boxes began to disappear. The time seemed to go by almost too fast for the pair cleaning, as they had spent every second divulged in conversation. When dinner time came close, Hermione suddenly remembered something. 

"Sirius, why don't you read a story out of the Marauder book?" she asked him, tossing her empty box to the side. Sirius stopped sorting through the box he was working on and stretched his arms over his head.

"I'd rather tell you later tonight. I don't want to be interrupted or anything , and I fear Molly will be calling us to dinner any minute now," he told her. She appeared to be clearly disappointed at his refusal but she shook it off.

"Alright, I guess that sounds fair," Hermione replied, secretly sulking on the inside. She wanted to hear more about the Marauders and the life of young Sirius. He was probably the most confusing, entertaining, and mischievous person Hermione had ever met. Unfortunately, she had an odd feeling that Sirius' childhood wasn't all good times and laughs like he played it off to be.

"Something wrong?" Sirius' voice broke her thoughts. He had noticed her staring off into space with a worried look on her face for quite some time. Startled, took her eyes off the empty bit of wall she was focusing on and looked at him.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking," she replied.

"Knut for your thoughts?" he offered. Hermione shook her head slightly and smiled, reaching out to pat his hand.

"Sorry, but my thoughts aren't that cheap," she joked. He pulled his hand away from under hers and stuck it into his pocket to rummage around. When his hand emerged, he laid his palm out, exposing three gallons, a few sickles, and a couple knuts.

"Is this tempting?" he suggested to her, holding his hand out. She laughed and pushed his hand away.

"As much as I'd love to take your money off your hands," her voice dripped with sarcasm, "these thoughts are rather private." Sirius frowned and brought his hand back, replacing the money in his pockets. Something in his brain brought the emotion of longing over him. He wanted so much to be able to know what she was thinking; he wanted her to trust him. He turned his frown into a smile when he caught her looking at him.

"No worries. Though next time, if I were you, I would take the money and make something up," he advised her with a sly grin. Before Hermione could retort, the deafening call of Mrs. Weasley came.

"Guess that means it's dinner time," Sirius said as he got up and helped Hermione rise as well. She pointed to the ceiling high pile in front of her, reminding him their job was not yet complete.

"Oh right, the spell," Sirius recalled and fished his wand from his pocket. He waved the wand and muttered 'Disentegrio.' In a billow of smoke, the pile in front of them vanished, leaving the room empty aside from the boxes. He turned his wand toward the boxes to cast the spell but Hermione's hand on his arm stopped him.

"May I?" she asked, drawing her wand out. Sirius put his wand arm down and bowed his head.

"Go for it," he offered. She imitated his wand motion and whispered the same spell. The boxes vanished as well, leaving a content Hermione and a beaming Sirius.

"Miss Weasley was right, you were born for this," Sirius observed, making Hermione fiddle with her wand unconsciously.

"Beginners luck I guess," she mumbled. Sirius was well aware by now that the young girl did not take compliments very well. He silently vowed to change this by the end of the summer.

"Now that everythings taken care of, let's go eat. I'm starving, to death" Sirius happily strode to the door, holding it open for her.

"Do all men think with their stomachs?" Hermione asked him as she exited the door, Sirius following close behind. He fell in step with her and reached up to scratch his head, his black hair falling into his stormy eyes.

"Well, it **is** the only sure fire way to a man's heart," he stated, patting his heart through his dark colored shirt. Hermione was glad the lights in the hallway were dimmed because if not, Sirius would be an audience to the shade of magenta that Hermione's face sported. Even the dark, she could see his vibrant eyes studying her reaction closely. She decided she might as well appease him.

"Then I'll just have to cook you something soon, won't I?" Hermione said in a low yet daring voice. She took a deep breath to find the strength within her to stare Sirius right in the eyes after making her comment to see what he would make of it. To her shock and surprise, he doubled his pace, walked ahead of her, and looked over his shoulder, delivering a simple wink. He then turned his head back around and descended down the stairs, leaving Hermione in a state of perplexity at the top. Her heart was thumping so loud she thought it was jump out of her chest.

'_Where in blazes did he learn to wink like that?'_


	7. Promises

**Ayo! Got another chapter here. I was hoping to get more reviews now that the stories moving along because I'm getting the vibe that not that many people are feeling this since theres only about 20 reviews. C'mon guys! my other fic is racking the reviews up and this ones feeling lonley sad face I accept constructive criticism as well, so please tell me whats going on! Haha here we gooo**

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**To Love a Marauder**

To say Hermione Granger was confused is perhaps the understatement of the century.

After being given the sexiest, meaningless and simplest wink of her lifetime, Hermione found herself floored.She stood at the top of the staircase for a good five minutes before practically getting pushed down it by Fred...or was it George? The world may never know.

"Hey 'Mione, something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," one of the Weasley twins asked her, slapping their hands on both of her shoulders from behind her.

"I was just looking at that portrait over there," Hermione lied, pointing at a random painting on the shredded wall. The twin in question stared at the painting and scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"That lady or whatever it is looks like a cross between Hagrid and a hippogriff," he determined. Hermione squinted her eyes and cocked her head to the side, now actually interested in what the painting was in front of her. From her perspective, is was a portrait of an extremely ugly woman, if it even was a woman. The figure had long matted brown hair and a faint trace of a mustache on the upper lip. To top it all off "she" wore a suit that seemed to be played off as some type of corset looking thing to minimize her burly figure.

"I don't think I want to know who that is. It appears that she's staring at us anyway, let's go," Hermione said, heading down the stairs. The red headed twin followed her closely behind still staring at the picture.

"OY, Ugly in the painting! Who are you?" Fred or George yelled loudly over Hermione's shoulder. They had just reached the bottom of the staircase as Hermione whipped around and glared at the boy behind her.

"Are you crazy?! It's going to wake up!" she hissed, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him to the kitchen. When they were almost halfway there a high pitched and shrilly voice stopped them dead in their tracks.

"WHO DARES INSULT ME? WHERE IS THIS IGORANT SCUM OF A PERSON THAT CALLS ME UGLY?!" the woman from the painting hollered. Hermione and the Weasley spun slowly on their heels, wincing at the shrieking voice.

"See what you've done?" Hermione groaned, walking back toward the painting to see if she could fix the damage Fred (she determined it him because of the large F on his sweater she had not noticed at first) had done. Approaching the painting hesitantly, Hermione tried to muster a fake smile.

"Hello Miss, I'm very sorry to have woken you," she told the woman in the most polite voice she could create. The woman in the painting was pacing back and forth furiously throwing random objects onto the floor. She stopped walking and stared at Hermione, her unibrow rising.

"**YOU** ARE THE ONE WHO DARED DEMORALIZE ME, THE OWNER OF THE NOBLEST HOUSE OF BLACK?" she screeched, looking Hermione up and down rapidly.

_Holy dragons, this woman is Sirius' mother. Merlin, he definitely must have gotten his looks from his dad then._

"Actually, it was my idiotic friend over there that insulted you," Hermione said, sticking a thumb out over her shoulder. Mrs. Black peered over Hermione, wide eyed and furious.

"THERE IS NO ONE BEHIND YOU, YOU FILTHY LIAR!" she screamed, her face turning redder by the second. Hermione turned around quickly to find Fred, but low and behold, he had disappeared into the kitchen.

_Blasted prat left me to deal with the hag by myself, wonderful._

"Well, I assure you Mrs. Black, it was someone else that said those awful things to you. I'm terribly sorry about that," Hermione apologized, attempting to look sympathetic. Mrs. Black didn't look any more pleased and she flared her nostrils, apparently sniffing Hermione.

"YOU'RE A MUDBLOOD AREN'T YOU? MUDBLOOD DIRT IN MY HOUSEHOLD, WHAT THE DARK LORD WOULD THINK!" she wailed, grabbing a vase in her painting and chucking it at Hermione. Even though there was no way she could harm her, Hermione started to get nervous.

"I-I….I think I'm going to go now. Goodnight," she said hurriedly. Hermione revolved in the spot, her eyes glued to the floor in front of her. She took a few steps down the hall until she crashed into something solid…and very warm. Whatever it was she hit touched her shoulders and pulled her backwards.

"You alright , love?" a low, buttery soft voice asked her. Seeing that what hit her had arms and a voice, Hermione looked up, not expecting to see the grey eyes of Sirius Black staring intently at her.

_Oh no, not him again. Right when I'm started to forget about that bloody wink he shows up._

Hermione inhaled and shook her head at him.

"I'm fine…I just had a lovely conversation with your mother," she told him, jerking her head in the direction of the painting. Sirius, hands still firm on Hermione's shoulders, formed a frown on his face.

"I heard from the kitchen. I was coming out here to shut her up and to fetch you for dinner…..I'm really sorry about whatever she said Miss Granger. She never excised proper manners and was never too fond of Muggle Borns, as you've heard," he told Hermione, with a deep loathing for the inhabitant of the painting in his voice. He let one of his arms fall from her shoulder but kept the other one still clutching the opposite shoulder. He steered her toward the kitchen as they walked in silence.

"Was she horrid to you…you know, for being friends with Muggle Borns?" Hermione asked him right before they reached the door. Sirius stopped walking and took his hand off her shoulder and stared off into space before answering.

"She was…insufferable to say the most," he said quietly, looking at the girl in front of him with a grimace. Hermione could easily see that there was so much more he had hidden; it was all in his stormy eyes.

"I….Sometimes she…," Sirius' words jumbled together. This was his chance, his chance to tell someone about the terrible life that he lived, the pains he faced. Finally there was someone in front of him that might just care enough about him to help him face his demons. But now was not the time.

"What did she do Sirius?" Hermione asked him gently, lightly touching his hand. He looked into her eyes, feeling a soothing sensation sweep over him. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a single squeeze before letting it drop.

"One day, Miss Granger. One day I will tell you, but now I just….it's too much," he said to her, managing a small smile. Hermione nodded her head in affirmation.

"When you're ready I'll listen. That's what friends are for, right?" Hermione reassured him, patting his shoulder gently. Sirius felt a heave of disappointment suddenly flood his chest as he smiled wryly.

_Why'd I have to go get my hopes up like an idiot? We're friends… just friends as she so boldly put it._

"Dinner's getting cold," Sirius commented, pointing to the door in front of them. Hermione acted impulsively to his signal and pushed it open, walking in to see the twins, Ginny, Ron, Molly, and Arthur seated at the table. Their conversations ceased at once when the pair appeared.

"I thought the painting bloody killed you or something," Fred laughed from his seat. Hermione smiled sweetly and sauntered over to her chair.

"It almost did no thanks to you," she retorted. Mrs. Weasley sprang up in a hurry and practically flew to the stove to pile two plates high with food.

"A bit of advice for all of you is to stay away from the painting and under no circumstances talk to it," Sirius advised the group with a stern expression on his face. Everyone nodded in return and continued where they left off in their conversation.

"So Dad, how come Remus and Tonks don't stop by randomly anymore? They use to drop in occasionally before," Ron asked his father, taking a break from inhaling his chicken. Arthur, looking tired and worn, sighed at his son.

"It's ridiculous what they're doing at the Ministry. They are trying to keep tabs on everyone, especially the Auror's because I think they figure some of them are forming some type of secret alliance," Arthur responded with almost a smile.

"Wonder where they came up with that theory," Sirius said with a chuckle. Arthur took another bite of his dinner while Molly brought Hermione and Sirius their plates.

"Why would they be mad about a secret alliance _**against**_ You-Know-Who?" Ginny piped up from her seat.

"Because the Ministry doesn't want people to think he's back in the first place. Having an alliance against him makes it seem more real to them that he actually is back and they don't want other people to think that. It's all about their denial," Arthur told them with a grim face. Hermione, who had been listening carefully, was itching to ask a few questions of her own.

"What has the Prophet been saying about all of this business with You-Know-Who?" she questioned, looking at Arthur.

"You don't even want to know, Hermione. It's turned into a circus now that the Ministry is taking full control of it. All the Prophet has been doing is making out that Harry's a nutter and that everything he says about **him** coming back is a lie," Arthur said with disgust in his voice.

The reactions at the table to this information were astounding: Ron jumped out of his chair and slammed his fork onto the table shouting inconsistencies, Fred and George both pushed away their plates of food claiming they had now lost their appetites, Ginny let out a loud gasp while Sirius just looked down into his tea as if he would dive into the cup at any moment. However, Hermione didn't seem too phased at Arthur's announcement. She simply waved her hand in care free fashion.

"I'm not too surprised about what they've done," she stated, receiving angry glares from the Weasley children.

"What do you mean?! Do you not care at all that they are saying these things about Harry? They've always done this to him, always going against him and never taking his side!" Ron yelled as he turned a vibrant red color to match his hair. Hermione pointed her finger at him.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Ron," Hermione remarked with a smirk. Now even Sirius was raising an eyebrow at her, wondering what on earth she was getting at.

"The Ministry has never been on Harry's side since we started school. They've always denied things he's said and have made him out to be a loon. But once they are faced with hard evidence about his claims, they flip their selling point to completely support him. Why would now be any different? The Prophets going to attack him until the Ministry sees You-Know-Who with their own eyes," she explained to the group. Sirius raised his cup of tea in a mock toast and inclined his head.

"Excellent observation, Hermione," he praised. She smiled timidly and thanked him while Ron was racking his brain to find a point to argue against Hermione. He seemed to have found her flaw, shouting "AHA" in defiance.

"You said that the Ministry will need rock solid evidence to back up Harry didn't you?" Ron asked her even though he already knew the answer. She nodded her head and he continued.

"That means for them to believe him bloody You-Know-Who is back he's going to have to Avada-Kedavra someone right in front of Fudge!" Ron exclaimed waving a chicken leg. Hermione's proud face disappeared into sadness.

"I know, Ron," she whispered, drawing her gaze downwards. The reality of the situation sunk in around the table as everyone realized how dangerous things had quickly become.The truth behind it all was that loads of people were going to be killed in this fight..not just one unlucky person in Voldemort's path. A sudden depression bathed the table. Everyone began to fidget uneasily to draw their minds away from the situation at hand.

Molly abruptly got up and began cleaning the table to busy herself. Meanwhile, Sirius watched the young girl in front of him creep slowly toward the verge of tears as she wandered deep in her own thoughts.

"Don't be upset, Hermione," Sirius said to her quietly, reaching his hand out to touch her own that was lying next to her abandoned fork. Her hand felt tense under his own as she looked up at him.

"A couple of people thinking Harry's crazy is the least of our problems right now," Sirius told her in what he hoped would be a lighthearted voice. She took her hand out from under his and brought it to her eyes to wipe away the few tears that had strayed.

"I'm just…scared for him…for everyone. He's back and no one is going to be prepared for when he comes after them. I feel like everyone I know and love is just going to ..die," she said, gripping the table weakly. Ginny, who was sitting beside her, wrapped her friend in a warm embrace and whispered comforting words to her.

"Don't start worrying about those fools that don't believe Harry. It's their own faults if they don't bother accepting the fact that he's back," George told her, standing up from the table. Ron and Fred followed suit and the three walked around to the other side of the table to join in on the group hug that was currently in progress. After a few seconds, the boys gave her a final pat and disappeared from the kitchen. Ginny got up as well and headed for the door, bidding everyone a good night.

"I've got to get to bed, long day at the office tomorrow," Arthur said as he too got up to leave. He leaned down to give Hermione a quick hug as she whispered thanks to him. Sirius waited patiently for Molly to finish her business cleaning so that he could have a few words with Hermione alone.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else, dear?" Molly came over to her and asked, rubbing her shoulder. Hermione declined and Molly gave her a warm hug.

"Everything will work out fine, Hermione, don't you fret. All of us are going to be prepared, I assure you that sweetheart" Mrs. Weasley muttered to her, giving the girl a final squeeze.

"Goodnight dear Sirius," Molly said to him as she left the kitchen leaving the two alone. Hermione still looked upset, making Sirius feel simply awful.

_That poor girl has been through so much and she's barely even had a chance to have fun with life. I can't stand seeing her like this…it's breaking my heart. But what can I say to make her feel better?_

"Hermione…." Sirius said, causing her to stare at him with bleary eyes. He got up from his chair and walked over to her side of the table, plopping into the chair next to her as she watched him curiously.

"I promise you that all of us are going to come out of this alive.We're going to be okay, and so will you. I swear to you that I will be there to protect you," he told her, grabbing her shoulders. A single tear streamed down her face as her eyes met his.

"You can't promise those things, Sirius," she said back, shaking her head. His tight grip on her increased as he forced her eyes to look deep into his.

"You're right. I can't promise you that everyone will be okay because chances are they may not, but I can promise that I will protect you no matter what, Hermione. I am giving you my word that if I am there with you and you are in danger, I will do anything in my power to keep you safe," his voice was strong and filled with emotion. Hermione felt her tears cease as she took in the appearance of the man in front of her.

His grey eyes were looking at her so intently as if she'd leave him any second. The shaggy black hair that hung above his shoulders was shining in the dim kitchen light. He was perfect in Hermione's eyes and here he was in front of her, vowing to be her guardian angel.

_He cares….oh sweet Merlin, Sirius cares about me! Even if it might be in a 'protect my godson's best friend' way it doesn't matter. He cares...there is hope_

"I don't know what to say…," Hermione murmured, giving Sirius the biggest smile she could manage considering the mood she was in.

"You don't have to say anything," Sirius replied, letting her shoulders go. He stood up, beckoning for her to rise as well.

"Did you still want me to read to you from the Marauder Book?" he asked her, thinking it would bring up her spirits. She felt a genuine grin on her face as she gave Sirius a quick hug. He felt her small arms wrap around his waist and her scent flooding his nostrils. His arms found their way around her as he basked in the glory of the moment that ended way too soon. She pulled away, beeming at him.

"More than anything in the world!" she laughed, feeling a weight on her lift as she followed Sirius out of the kitchen to the staircase. She suddenly thought of something as they climbed upstairs.

_I want to be with him more than anything in the world!_

_Wait..I Do?_

_Where did that come from?_

_Oh I know_..._……my heart._

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I PROMISE you the next chapter will be about the Marauders! Remember to R&R! 


	8. The Marauders' Tale

Ahh all those review last chapter made me extremely happy! And now to thank you, I have some of the Marauder Tale for you. Keep in mind that I've written the prank as a flashback and not as if Sirius was reading it word for word from the book. I thought it would be more entertaining this way. as always enjoy, and review!

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To Love a Marauder

"So how do you like the library, Hermione?" Sirius Black asked his fellow Gryffindor as they settled down into two cushiony brown chairs in the center of the room.

Hermione for one of the first times in her life was speechless. At the moment, she was absolutely glowing as she gaped in awe at the miraculous library of the Black's. It was nothing like the rest of the house at all: this room was impeccably clean. Burgundy walls surrounded the room and a large golden chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling. Rows and rows of books on shelves took up most of the library, leaving a decent sized clearing for a few comfortable chairs and a cherry oak table.

'_This is by far the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life. Period!'_

"It's beautiful, Sirius…" Hermione said with a dreamy gaze. She pleasantly sighed while her eyes combed the looming towers of books as far she could see. Sirius watched the young girl become mesmerized by the books. He couldn't help but actually feel appreciative for once of his parents for creating the luxurious library. It was the only thing he missed after he ran away to live with James; but now, he was glad to would be able to put a smile on Hermione's face.

"This is the one room in the house that I keep clean aside from my own bedroom," Sirius told her. Hermione leaned back happily in her chair, instantly feeling relaxed and at home for the first time since she arrived at the House of Black.

"I could sit here forever." Hermione looked at Sirius with pure joy in her eyes, grinning madly. He put his legs up onto the small table in front of him and lounged out, picking up the thick black Marauder Book and placing it onto his lap.

"Before we start this," he motioned to the book, "I just want to tell you that you're welcome to come use the library any time you want. My house is your house." Hermione squealed and almost launched herself out of the chair to embrace him but somehow restrained herself.

"Oh thank you so much! This is wonderful….really it's just…wow," she gushed, racking her brain with thoughts of all the books she could read.

'_My stay here just became ten times better. No, a million times better! '_

"No need to thank me. Everyone needs a place where they can just be at peace with themselves and a book sometimes." Sirius inwardly smirked at his comment, knowing damn well that all of the Marauders thought Sirius detested books. Little did they know he very well lived in the library during his stays at home.

"Will you come sit and read with me sometimes?" Hermione requested before realizing what she had said. She clapped a hand over her mouth and blushed. Sirius chuckled, attempting to show no harm was done, though her question made the wheels in his mind turn.

'_She wants to read in my company? That's odd…it's like she __**enjoys**__ being around me. No one ever really liked being anywhere near me beside James and Remus. Those are the only two people that really understood me and now Hermione out of all people wants to be within ten feet of me? That's something to think about.'_

"Are you sure you can put up with me voluntarily for a couple hours?" a glint in his eyes flashed. The slightly pink faced Hermione smiled and curled her legs underneath her.

"Isn't that what I'm doing now?" she pointed out, referring to their current plan for story time. Sirius scratched the back of his head in thought, tousling his silky black hair.

"You make a good case Miss Granger," Sirius concluded after a moment of consideration. Hermione grabbed one of the fluffy pillows next to her and hit the man across from her lightly on the knee.

"Enough small talk, Padfoot. It's story time." Hermione put on a serious face and crossed her arms to add to the effect that she meant business. Sirius put his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright. You win," he declared and picked up the book on his lap. She pumped her fist in celebration.

"Yes! Victory in mine!" she laughed, making herself more comfortable in the chair as Sirius flipped through the pages.

"Hmmmm…what's a good one," he muttered to himself absent mindedly, skimming the entries. His black hair kept falling into his eyes, annoying him thoroughly as kept brushing it away. Hermione bit her lip, forcing herself not to laugh as his frustration with his hair grew larger by the minute.

"Bloody fucking hair," he growled, running his hand through it furiously.

"Allow me." Hermione pulled out her wand from her pocket and pointed it directly at the section of hair that repeatedly fell into his eyes.

"_Immobilus_." She pocketed her wand with satisfaction and resumed her seat. Sirius looked at her curiously and then rolled his eyes back to see if he could get a glimpse at the ruddy piece of hair that ceased to bother him.

"Why didn't I think of that?" he asked himself out loud, poking the now immobile piece of hair in amazement. Hermione shrugged her shoulders and yawned. Sirius snapped out of his hair-petting moment at the sound and took it as a signal to start reading before she konked out. He looked back down at the book and turned a few more pages until he found a prank sure to impress the intelligent witch.

"Are you ready to be blown away by the reckless lifestyle that belongs to myself, Sirius Black?" he dramatically questioned her. She seemed to shake off her sleepiness as she sat up straight, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"I'll be the judge of how reckless you were, my furry friend," Hermione joked, crossing her legs Indian style on the chair. Sirius grinned and cleared his throat as he began reading, spiraling Hermione down into the world of the Marauders. Soon, his sultry voice flooded over her as she felt herself reliving the sly tale….

"_The bloody Quidditch final is in two days and all everyone is worried about is exams!" an annoyed James Potter shouted, throwing his broomstick down onto his four poster bed. His best friend, Sirius Black, was lying comfortably on his own bed, flipping through a magazine on Motorcycles. He tossed it to the side and looked over at Remus Lupin, who was reading a book at the end of his bed._

"_Oi Moony, do you reckon we should be painting a sign with Prongs' face on it so we can parade around the common room to get everyone to drop all their things to see him play Quidditch?" Sirius asked his friend with a grin. Remus took his eyes off the book he was reading and looked from Sirius to James before answering._

"_Oh I don't know Padfoot; you know I was never good at painting and all those crafty sort of things," Remus replied in all seriousness. James chucked the pillows from his bed at his two friends, groaning loudly._

"_Very funny, you lot. But this is serious business! How are we supposed to win the House Cup with absolutely no Gryffindor Spirit!" he complained, messing up his jet black hair. The young man's hazel eyes looked back and forth at his friends, hoping for some support. Sirius sat up and loosened the striped scarlet and gold tie around his neck. _

"_I assure you, we have plenty of Gryffindor Pride Prongs. Haven't you seen my bedroom?" he asked with a satisfied smirk. Remus put his book down on top of the discarded magazine and smacked Padfoot's leg. _

"_You my friend almost have __**too much**__ Gryffindor pride," he told him, chuckling lightly. James however still looked frustrated._

"_I know you love Gryffindor more than your own reflection, but that's not enough to help us win," Potter pointed out, taking his Quidditch robes off. _

"_For your information, Prongs, I enjoy my reflection a hell of a lot more than some ruddy lion," Sirius said amusedly. But before James had a chance to retort, the dormitory room swung upon revealing a flush Peter Pettigrew._

"_Ahh Wormtail, just in time," Sirius called out to his other friend, motioning for him to join the group. Peter grabbed the closest chair to him and pulled it over in between Sirius and James' beds and sat down._

"_What's going on?" Peter fidgeted in his chair wildly. Sirius swept a handful of black hair across his forehead and yawned._

"_The lovely James Potter is concerned that our Gryffindors are not showing enough spirit in light of the upcoming Quidditch final," Black explained, playing up the ridiculousness of James' dilemma. An angry huff came from James' bed but he said nothing. Peter stayed quiet, thinking hard. Finally, his squeaky voice spoke._

"_Couldn't we just throw a House party or something? With lots of banners and such?" he proposed, keeping his eyes on the floor. The boys sat in silence for a few seconds, musing over the idea. James picked at the straws of his broom while Remus whistled a tune, Sirius, however, was scratching his chin thoughtfully. His small bits of stubble were coveted by him, his idea of showing everyone he was a 'man.'_

"_Actually…that's genius Wormy!" Sirius exclaimed gleefully, sitting up straighter. His ideas were flooding his brain faster than he could talk. James, at the sound of Padfoot's elated voice, sat up on his bed, staring suspiciously at his friend. Remus leaned forward a bit towards Sirius; Peter doing the same. All three boys were clinging onto Padfoot's next words._

"_We do exactly what Peter said…just to a bigger scale," he started, practically bouncing on the springy bed._

"_We can get huge Gryffindor banners, enchanted ones that shout things out, flash lights, and all that good stuff. They can go up on the ceilings around school; we can find some way to charm them up there. Also, we'll make scarlet and gold fireworks! We can set them off all over the place, cause a big commotion and everything. And I know this next part might be hard, but I'm sure we can get it to work if Lily helps us," Sirius rambled, seeing James eyes begin to flicker with excitement._

"_Somehow we can make lion illusions, a whole bunch of them. They can roar and run around the school into all the classes, getting people really riled up. Then, if we aren't caught by then, we can have a huge blowout in the common room. That should get everyone really pumped up for the game, including Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw," a heaving breath signified the Sirius had finished. He looked impatiently at his friends as they soaked his hair brained scheme up. _

"_Well what do you think!" Sirius almost shouted, slapping his hands onto the bed. James was looking intently at Sirius, his eyes bulging. Padfoot was panting now, waiting for a response. _

"_I want to marry you Mr. Black!" James yelled and lunged from his bed over to Sirius, tackling him in a hug._

"_You are a god, right you are," James told him, getting off of his muffled friend. Sirius was grinning while looking at the other two boys._

"_So are you two siding with James on this one; that I am a god?" Sirius asked them with a cocky smile. Remus shook his head in disagreement and clapped Wormtail on the back._

"_I think I speak for both of us when I say that you are most definitely not anything remotely close to a god…but that you are a smart bastard," Remus laughed along with Peter. Sirius let out a sigh of relief and looked hopefully at his friends._

"_So we're gonna do this, the greatest school spirit prank in history?" The boys shared a side glance at each other and looked at Sirius, grins slowly spreading on their faces. In one swift movement, Sirius jumped on top of his bed, waving his hand like a conductor._

"_Marauders going in?" he yelled._

"_Marauders going out!" James echoed, pumping his fist into the air._

"_And if detention we receive…" Remus said in a sing song voice._

"_We'll whine and cry and pout" the other three chorused._

"_However the last laugh is always ours" Sirius boomed with a low, mock bow._

"_Though many think we're loony" the small of voice of Peter suddenly intensified._

"_The dashing and handsome posse…" James sprung on top of his bed as well._

"_Padfoot, Prongs, Wormtail and Moony!" the group shouted in unison._

_All four Marauders tossed themselves onto the beds and rolled onto their sides, double over in laughter. Their chant had become a ritual for them to recite before starting any prank; it was supposed to bring them 'luck' even though their deeds usually landed them at the mercy of Professor McGonagall. It was still a riot every time they said it._

"D-D-Did you guys really say that little j-jingle?" Hermione said between bouts of laughter, interrupting Sirius from reading. He looked at her giggling uncontrollably, and scowled.

"Mind you, it took me and James months to come up with that," he remarked with a frown. Hermione took no notice of him feeling insulted and waved her hand for him to continue.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupting…" he continued, going back to the book.

"_How do we plan on getting all the stuff we need?" Remus brought the question up once the laughter had died down. James hiccupped and clutched his stomach, making sure he had quite finished cracking up._

"_That won't be too hard. The fireworks we can get at Zonko's in Hogsmeade. A couple of us can sneak there tomorrow and get them. Hmmm… the banners we can steal from that closet outside the Great Hall. It's got all the stuff they use to decorate at the End of Year Feast. There's bound to be a bunch of Gryffindor banners," James rattled off to them. Everyone nodded in affirmation. _

"_Now the master plan," Sirius said, drawing attention to himself by puffing out his chest._

"_I say Wormy and Moony go under the Cloak early tomorrow morning to the closet by the Hall. They can snag a bunch of the banners to bring back up to the dorm. Around lunch, me and James can go to Hogsmeade since we have an hour long break from classes. That should be enough time to get the stuff. Meanwhile, Remus, you can try to convince Lily to help us out with the Charms aspect of everything. We'll regroup here right after the last class of the day and work on charming the banners and fireworks," Sirius told them with authority in his voice. _

"_What about the illusions? Do any of us know how to do those?" Peter spoke up. They all looked at each other uneasily; apparently no one had mastered the illusion concept yet. _

"_Okay, well maybe we can read up on it. Can you swing by the library tomorrow to get a book on illusions, Moony?" James asked his friend, who had picked up the book he was reading previously and was cradling it in his lap._

"_Sure thing. Maybe I'll even get a chance to read it," Remus said sarcastically. _

"_Perfect then. We'll figure out how we can go about setting everything up tomorrow, it's getting late and I'm beat," Padfoot announced to them, unbuttoning his shirt. They all took the cue and went to their respective trunks to grab nightclothes. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day and they would need all the rest they could get._

"Speaking of sleeping, I'm getting pretty tired as well, so I think we should finish this tomorrow," Sirius said as he closed the heavy book on his lap. He looked up at Hermione and saw that she had already fallen asleep. Her head was resting on the arm of the chair as her legs curled under her. One of her arms was draped off the chair, almost touching the floor.

"Guess my escapades weren't so thrilling," Sirius muttered, getting up from his chair. He stepped over to her, reaching a hand out to gently shake her awake. When he was right about to make contact with her, he stopped.

"I'm sorry….Padfoot," Hermione mumbled in her sleep, cuddling herself into a ball. Her breathing was light and shallow as her face had a troubled look plastered on it.

'_She can't be dreaming about me…can she? I don't know, she did say Padfoot and I don't know many other Padfoots in the world. I have to wake her up, she's got to sleep properly in her bed. Agh I don't want to bother her…. Maybe I should carry her?'_

Sirius felt hotness on the back of his neck grow to his face as the thought of him carrying her to bed came up. He shifted uneasily, debating what to do. He extended both arms and touched her, in an effort to pick her up. She instantly grabbed his hand and brought it to her warm face, using it as a sort of pillow. Sirius felt an odd feeling in his stomach as she rubbed her porcelain soft skin onto his tanned hand.

'_Hermione feels like a China doll…Gods what am I saying. She's sixteen!'_

"Alright I guess if I can't pick you up from the chair I'll have to levitate you out of it first," Sirius spoke to the sleeping figure. He fished his wand from his pocket and muttered _'Wingardium Leviosa.' _Her body floated out of the couch at perfect height so that Sirius could easily put her into his arms. He hesitated for a moment, simply watching her float peacefully in midair.

'_I really shouldn't be doing this. It's wrong…it's inappropriate…it's….oh the hell with it!'_

Sirius walked forward and put his arms around Hermione, cradling her close to him. She felt light as a feather and he sighed as she grabbed onto his shirt, mumbling words he could not comprehend.

"Let's get you to bed, love" he murmured to her and walked out of the library. He silently did light extinguishing spells as he passed through the various rooms of the house, trying to focus on the spells instead of the bundle he was carrying. Once he had reached the staircase, the painting of Mrs. Black spotted them and began to open her mouth.

"Say one word and I will blow your portrait into smithereens, you psychotic witch." Sirius growled and gave the painting the most menacing glare he could muster. His mother's mouth slowly closed and crossed her arms in defeat. Satisfied, he walked up the staircase, finding it was no struggle carrying Hermione.

'_I could get use to this feeling of her in my arms…it feels so right. But it's so wrong! Why is the one person I'm fairly attracted to have to be so young? Someone up there doesn't want me to be happy that's for sure.'_

Sirius was now in front of Hermione and Ginny's bedroom. Muttering a spell, the door opened quietly and he stepped inside, careful to be quiet. He could see the mass under Ginny's blankets, breathing rhythmically. Sirius walked Hermione over to the bed as the covers pulled themselves down. He placed her gently down, detaching her hand from his shirt that was so firmly grasped.

"Those clothes can't be too comfortable," he said to himself with a groan, knowing what he'd have to do. He opened her trunk that was at his feet.

"_Accio pajamas_." A pair of shorts and a thin tank top emerged from the trunk. Sirius then pulled the covers over Hermione and performed a switching spell.

"_Replacio,_" he waved his wand and the pajamas zoomed underneath the covers and a split second later, the clothing she was wearing before came out, folding itself neatly on top of the trunk. Sirius acknowledged that his work was done and he turned around to leave. At the door frame, he paused to look back in at the dozing girl.

"Goodnight, Hermione," he whispered, closing her door soundlessly.

'_She's off limits, unattainable, off the market, not even a possibility………'_

He repeated those words over and over in his head as he headed off toward his room. It was really impossible, what he wanted. A young girl all for him, one that deserves everything in the world Sirius could not give her. The man couldn't even leave his own home, and here he was, trying to woo someone that would need to be taken on proper dates and be given only the best.

Sighing, Sirius entered his bedroom and threw himself onto his own bed, leaving his clothes on.

"Bloody hell, I'm going mad in this house," he moaned, pulling the covers around himself.

'_Going mad…for blasted Hermione Granger! Agh, this plan to get to know her is completely backfiring. The more I'm learning about her, the more I don't want to be her uncle-figure but her…lover. _

_Merlin almighty, Dumbledore's crack pot personality is rubbing off on me.'_


	9. Scars Don't Fade

Hey! Not too many reviews last chapter, how sad. Hopefully this one will have more, so here we go! also Hermione wasn't sixteen in OOTP but for the sake of the story she is. Enjoy

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**To Love a Marauder**

"Sirius?….James? …..is that you, Remus?" Hermione grumbled in her sleep, tossing and turning viciously. She knew she was dreaming but something she found was extremely odd about this particular dream. It seemed so…real. As if the scene she was witnessing had actually occurred and somehow she was there to watch it unfold...

'_Where am I?' Hermione thought to herself as she looked around the spot she appeared at cautiously. In front of her was a large oak tree with a trunk that appeared to be almost six feet wide. The weather, wherever she was, happened to be flawless. She looked up at the bright blue cloudless sky, feeling the warm sun tickle her skin. Turning sideways, she could see an immense murky lake close by with people sitting around it, simply enjoying the view. _

'_This place…I know it from somewhere,' she recalled, remembering the feeling of the springy green grass beneath her feet. She took a final turn to face the opposite direction, and realization dawned on her._

'_Ah, of course, how could I be so stupid? It's Hogwarts.'_

_She could see the gargantuan castle that loomed over the outside grounds, adding the final touches to the scenery. Now she noticed the people around the lake were students, wasting away the hours of the late afternoon, which she presumed it was, instead of studying._

"_Was it worse this time?" a male voice inquired from nearby, bringing Hermione to attention.. She perked up her ears and stepped hesitantly around the tree, making sure she was still hidden. Peeking around the trunk with her body covered, she could see the occupants of the other side._

'_Oh my Lord…it's __**them**__." Hermione said in shock and disbelief. The 'them' she was referring to were the very young men she was hearing stories about a mere hour ago. The bloody Marauders! Or at least most of them from what she could see._

_In front of the tree, sleeping on top of a blanket was Remus Lupin. He was a fairly gangly teen had sandy blonde hair that was a little longer than how it was kept currently. Except as of right now he didn't have a single grey hair or wrinkle on his youthful face. Hermione smiled as he swat a fly off of his face subconsciously in his sleep._

'_That must be James right there, gods he looks exactly like Harry,' she mused as she turned her attention to another boy sitting on the edge of the scarlet blanket. A seventeen year old James Potter sat cross legged, mussing his hair up thoroughly so that it stuck up at all sorts of angles. He seemed generally skinny but with enough brawn to be quite successful in Quidditch. James was in fact, very handsome according the image that was presented in front of Hermione. The only negative thing about him was the utterly serious expression he currently bore on his face while talking to…_

"_Sirius!" Hermione gasped, unable to contain herself. Right there, in front of her own eyes, was the teenage Sirius Black. She leaned farther around the tree to get a better look at him and almost fainted._

'_Wow he's…he's……damn __**he is**__ a god!' Or at least was for that matter,' Hermione's mind raced as she meticulously observed the teenager. He was leaning against the tree with his legs extended in front of him. His white button up school shirt was un-tucked with the first few buttons undone to reveal a lightly tanned chest. His Gryffindor tie was loosened around his neck giving him the full rugged effect…in the most seductive way possible. Sirius' black hair hadn't changed a bit. It was still long and silky, framing his face in just the right way.. His facial structure was identical to the one he had now, the only difference was a certain glow he radiated; Hermione figured it was due to his youth and close friends._

'_Actually…he looks the same for the most part. Gods if I'm thinking he looks like that now, then why aren't I swooning all over him? ……wait I forgot…I am. Damn it'_

"_I can't believe this! You've got to leave, Padfoot," the urgent voice of James sounded. Hermione, in order to hear better, quickly moved around the back of the tree to the other side of it, right by James and Sirius._

"_I thought I could fight back now that I'm seventeen. But those bastards just learned more tricks," Sirius growled with a glare. James turned a deathly pale color at Sirius' words, causing Hermione to feel alarmed._

'_What's Sirius talking about that's so terrible?'_

"_What did they do to you?" James said quietly, his eyes wide with fear, which Hermione observed to be an emotion he did not relay so often. Sirius sighed and reached for the hem of his shirt._

"_You sure you want to see this?" he offered his friend an escape, but he nodded, accepting whatever lay beneath the sheer white fabric._

"_Oh Merlin…Padfoot!" James exclaimed in horror as Sirius revealed his exposed chest. Hermione bit her lip, fighting a shriek as she beheld what James saw. Her eyes gazed reluctantly at Sirius' badly bruised chest that was a purple and yellow color. There were deep gashes randomly by his ribcage in a grotesque pattern, making Hermione's stomach churn. One cut was particularly long and jagged, gleaming crimson in the sunlight. Sirius grimaced, inspecting the damages on his own body._

"_That was some hex, that gash," Sirius commented, looking at the same wound Hermione was staring at. She felt hot tears spring to her eyes as she watched the young man try to shift his position, wincing terribly._

"_Your own parents… Sirius you can't live there anymore. It's too dangerous!" James told him, dragging his eyes away from his best friend's injuries. Sirius closed his eyes and sighed deeply._

"_I can't do anything about it unless I leave permanently, Prongs. They are worse when they know I've been visiting with friends to get away from them. I got that nasty one the day I came home from visiting Moony's house," Sirius explained, letting his shirt drop back down. James was silent for a few seconds, apparently mulling something over._

"_What if…you came to live with me?" the idea sprung out of his head. He looked at Sirius with what seemed like the first smile he had made through out the length of the conversation. Sirius shook his head firmly._

"_I can't do that, James. Your parents have been more than good to me and you know I love them like they were my own but…I can't be a burden to them," he said sadly, his grey eyes bearing dissapointment. James was too excited at his stroke of brilliance to take no for an answer and ignored Sirius' comment._

"_Come off it, Black! You know my parents like you more than they like me! They would be glad if you came," he rattled on, trying to get his friend on board with the plan. Sirius cut his friend off and slammed his fist into the ground, his eyes wide and fiery._

"_**NO** James! I cannot and will not live with you to cause your parents more grief. I'll just deal with it at home…it's not like I haven't don't it before," he said, managing a carefree tone. Now, it was Prong's turn to get angry as he stood up to tower over his friend._

"_What, you're going to go home so they can curse you to bits again!? Is that what you want, Sirius? Is that why you won't swallow your damn pride for a minute to realize that this might be the only opportunity you might get at living a real life? A life where you won't have to have your wand at the ready when you're going to bloody get something to eat in your own kitchen! What if they kill you this time, Sirius? I'm not going to fucking sit here while your parents treat you like this anymore. You're living with me and that's final!" James bellowed ,his face red and blotchy. Sirius looked frozen, reveling in the shock he received from James' sudden outburst. Prongs stared at his friend, breathing heavily waiting for an answer._

"_Well..?" James asked him, staring him down. Sirius' breath was wavering as he brought his grey eyes upwards so that James could see the mist and tears that began to leak from them._

"_I don't know what to say, James," Sirius whispered, standing up onto his own to feet._

"_Say you'll stop being an arrogant prat to become a Potter," James smiled at him, clapping an arm on his shoulder, understanding Sirius needed some lightening up about the whole situation._

"_You're more than my best friend Prongs…I can't thank you enough," Sirius said to him after his loss for words. He pulled his friend into a hug, slapping him on the back as another tear fell from his eye. He quickly brought his hand up to wipe it away._

"_Aw Padfoot! You didn't have to get all emotional on me!" James joked as they broke apart. Sirius glared at him with no visable tears._

"_Shut it, Prongs. You say one word about this to anymore, I'll make your hair stay neat," he threatened. James gasped and his hand flew to his hair._

"_You wouldn't dare!" James exclaimed, his eyes shifting nervously. _

"_Try me," Sirius growled, eyeing the jet black mess on James' head. After a few seconds of necessary silence, they both burst out laughing, fighting to breath as the roars of humor took over. Remus Lupin,awoke by their noise, opened a groggy eye to look at his two friends in hysterics._

"_Did I miss something? He asked them both. Sirius held onto the tree to regain his breath and looked down at his werewolf pal._

"_Not a thing... well except for the fact that I'm going to live with James and that I'm jinxing his hair to stay put," he told him nonchalantly. Remus yawned and closed his eye, rolling over onto his side to be more comfortable._

"_That's great, Padfoot. Now shut up and let me get some sleep," Moony grumbled, however smiling broadly at the news before he went back to sleep._

_By this point in the conversation, Hermione had turned into a wreck behind the tree. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she watched Sirius, thinking about how on earth Sirius kept the terrors of his past hidden so well._

'_His parents used Dark Magic on him…they hated him…oh gods poor Sirius,' she thought as she sniffled. Hermione had to talk to him about this now, even if it was just a dream._

"_Excuse me," she said gently, emerging from behind the trees, standing right in front of he boys. Neither of them looked up, ignoring her gesture._

"_Sirius…James?" she asked them, speaking louder this time. They still didn't respond, looking in every direction but hers. Hermione stepped over to Remus asleep on the blanket and tapped his shoulder._

"_Remus, is that you?" she question, hoping for a response. The figure didn't stir at all, leaving her perplexed._

'_Great…they can't see me. How am I going to talk to Sirius about this? I can't just mention it to him and say I learned everything from a bloody dream.'_

"_I'm guessing neither of you can see me," she said out loud, positioning herself next to Sirius. As she expected, her words did nothing._

"_I think I'll take a nap now, Prongsy. Moony seems to be enjoying himself," Sirius spoke, laying himself down onto the blanket._

"_Good plan, Padfoot," James commented, adjusting himself on the blanket as well. Hermione watched for a few moments as the boys closed their eyes and slowly slipped into a subtle doze._

"_Let's take a look at what those horrid people did to you," Hermione muttered, sitting down onto the blanket. She tentatively place her hand on the hem of Sirius shirt, causing no movement in the teen. Very slowly, she rose the shirt up, revealing his decorated chest once again._

"_Oh Sirius…." Hermione whispered, looking at the mess. She began tracing each one of the scars on his muscular chest, imprinting them into her mind. She didn't seem to notice the fresh, salty droplets running down her face once again as her finger grazed the long gash._

"_How could they?" Hermione whimpered. She stared at Sirius' peaceful face as he slept, his breathing shallow. His scent, she found, was exactly the same as it was in her time. The aroma gave her a sense of familiarity, reminding her of the man she knew now. The one that went through so much in his life to be stuck as a recluse in his home._

"_Don't worry… I promise I'm going to help you overcome your past. You won't have to deal with this on your own anymore, I swear that to you, Sirius," she said quietly, placing her palm on his warm cheek. A stirring in her stomach gave her the stimulus to do what she did next._

_Ever so gently, she leaned toward his face, her pink lips hovering close to his own. Lightly, they lowered themselves, almost touching his until the last second where she quickly moved them over to his cheek, She pressed her lips on his warm cheek, feeling tickled by the few stubbles she found. Pulling her face away, she smiled at the teen, knowing he would never find out what she just did. All of a sudden, she felt a warming sensation on her hand. She bought it close to her face, inspecting it._

"_What the…?" she muttered. The feeling in her hand was spreading to her entire body, making her feel calm and blissful. The scene in front of her began to slip away as darkness enveloped it instead._

Hermione, half asleep, squint her eyes to see into the darkness of the room. Something was touching her hand, making it feel unnaturally wet. She peered downwards to see the silhouette of black fur perched up on hind legs at her bedside, licking her hand gently. At her sudden movement, the dog stopped lapping its tongue and looked up at the conscious girl. Hermione, falling quickly back onto her pillow, could only recall the feeling of the dog's wet muzzle touching her hand one last time before watching it disapear into the darkness and she went back to sleep.

* * *

_About two hours ago..._

"Damn...Bloody...Dreams," a frustrated Sirius Black groaned, waking up for the third time since going to bed. He sighed heavily, feeling trickles of sweat on his forehead. Noticing he still had on his clothing from the previous day, he took off his shirt, leaving the pants on.

'_Might as well go get something to drink in the kitchen. I don't see myself falling asleep properly anytime soon.'_

Throwing the covers off of himself, Sirius got out of bed, running both hands through his hair.

_'I've got to stop dreaming about that girl... I'll be an insomniac by the time the summers over!'_

Standing up, he found in front of him a cracked, full length mirror. Taking a minute, Sirius stared into the glass, frowning at what he saw.

Reflecting back at him was someone he didn't even recognize. Some things of course were still the same. He could see he still had the same physique, tall and toned, that was evident. His hair had never changed over the years, he made sure of that. However, what upset him was the one thing he was lacking the most…

_Emotion_

The years and troubles he had endured took away the lively spirit that hsd always engulfed him. He could have sworn when he was younger, he would practically reek of exuberance and youth. His skin would shine with anticipation and excitement, waiting for life's next adventures to strike. Now, looking back at himself, only he could tell his skin had lost its sheen.

_My Eyes_

The mirror reflected a pair of stony grey eyes that were empty. Every once in a while, they would spark and twinkle just like they use to, but the glint would always fade quickly.

**Azkaban,** **Lily and James' deaths**, **letting Peter slip away**…. They all added up. He was ashamed he couldn't even appear to be happy when he was around Harry. His godson deserved someone to always be there to smile and laugh with him, but Sirius couldn't do that...not anymore.

Peering closer into the mirror, keeping his eyes in mind, Sirius found something that startled him.

_Hope_

It was clearly there, no question about that. Someone else would not notice it but Sirius could. in an instant. He was looking at a faint sparkle in his grey eyes, causing himself to step backwards.

'_What…why now? How could that be? Nothings changed…'_ he lied to himself, trying to pull his mind away from the obvious answer, lit up with flashing lights in his head.

_Hermione Granger_

"It can't be," Sirius muttered, looking in awe at the sudden change in his demeanor. But right in front of him, he could not deny, was a sign of happiness, a sign that had long been gone for the last twelve years of his life. Surely, a sixteen year old girl could not have brought about this drastic change…could she?

'_No…it's impossible. I'm just happy because Harry's coming in a week.'_

He mentally slapped himself, knowing that was definitely not the answer. Shaking his head, he walked over to his nightstand and grabbed the shirt he had discarded minutes before and pulled it back on, covering his badly scarred chest.

'_Lovely daily reminder of mum and dad.' _

Disgusted, Sirius tore his mind away from that part of his past. It was too dark...too terrible to even dwell on anymore. It was the last thing he'd ever want to bring up again in his life. The pain and horrors surrounding it weren't exactly great conversation.

Shuddering, Sirius made his way out of his room down the hall, only to stop suddenly. A quiet whimpering noise was ringing in his ears.

'_What in gods name is that?'_

Taking slow steps, he listened intently at each of the doors he passed, waiting to hear if the sound became louder. The volume of the noise increased as he continued down the hall. Finally, the whimpering and low voice he heard had become clear at the door Sirius stopped at. His ear was pressed firmly against the wood and he could make out a few words.

"Oh Sirius…." a muttering voice said, with sadness in their voice.

'_Who the bloody…' _Sirius thought, until he realized whose door he was standing in front of.

_Hermione!_

"How could they?" her distinct voice asked, sending chills down Sirius' spine. Quickly, he turned himself into his Animagus form so he could go inside the room undetected. Pushing the door ajar with his black noise, he wandered into the room. A loud snoring from the bed opposite Hermione's indicated that Ginny was in a very deep sleep, unaware of her room mate's noise making. Slowly, Sirius approached Hermione's bed to see her thrashing amongst the sheets.

"I promise…" she cried out, turning over once more. Her hand fell off the side of the bed limply. Swiftly, Sirius went up onto his hind legs, leaning on her bed. He began to lick her hand gently, in an attempt to comfort her. Miraculously, after a few seconds,the noises ceased and her body stopped moving. He continued to lap at her soft palm, until he felt a sudden movement. Pausing, he turned his furry head to look up at Hermione, whose eyes were somewhat open, staring curiously at him. Apparently she must have been quite tired because she dropped back down to her pillows, ignoring the large canine at her bedside. Sirius nuzzled her hand once more with his nose and padded off to leave the room.

Once safely outside the door, he transformed back into his human self. Putting his hands on his face, he sighed and leaned back against the cool wall, his head spinning.

'_What was she dreaming about? Was I dying or something….? She made me a promise...but what!'_

Taking a deep breath, Sirius got off the wall and walked back to his room, forgetting about his plans to go to the kitchen. This time, upon arrival in his bedroom, he stripped off his shirt and pants, feeling the cold air hit his body welcoming. Climbing into bed, he stared up at the ceiling forming a peculiar thought.

'_Didn't Merlin marry a woman thirty years younger than him?_

_ Gods…Now I'm trying to compare myself to bloody **Merlin**_

_ Maybe Hermione isn't the only one going crazy'_


	10. Confronting Truths

**Yay, I have my longest chapter yet for you guys. Hopefully it makes you happy! Thanks to my reviewers. Please drop me a review for this chapter and be sure to check out my other story "Love is Just a Game", it's Draco/ Hermione.**

**Gracias!**

**

* * *

****To Love a Marauder**

"Mum! We haven't been able to sleep in at all since we got here!" an annoyed Ginny Weasley exclaimed to her mother early the next morning.

"Ginerva Weasley, you will not use that tone with me young lady. We are guests in the house and we will do our part of the chores around here whether you like it or not," a red face Molly scolded her daughter. Ginny scowled and lowered her voice so it would not travel out of the room's thin walls.

"It's not like Sirius did anything to help clean the house before we got here. I don't think he cares if it's clean or not!" the smallest Weasley said, glancing uneasily at the door expecting Sirius to walk in at any moment. Molly's face softened as she whispered back.

"Look honey, I know he probably doesn't care if we clean or not, but it's something nice we can do for him and he seems glad he can help. You know he's had a hard and lonely couple of years. Just being around people might give him a better outlook on things, and if we can do something productive at the same time, then I think we should," Mrs. Weasley said with a sad face, thinking about the poor man's past solitude.

"I guess your right. Sirius hasn't been doing much since he's went into hiding and you can tell he misses Harry an awful lot," Ginny, who felt ashamed, agreed. Molly pulled her daughter into a warm hug and patted her back.

"Thank you for understanding, Ginny. Now, please wake up Hermione and tell her to get ready as well," she directed, pulling away from the hug. Ginny nodded and her mother exited the room content.

"Don't bother waking me. I'm already up," Hermione's sleepy voice mumbled from behind Ginny. The red head turned around, surprised the see the girl sitting up in bed, stretching her arms.

"Did me and mum wake you?" she asked her, sitting at the edge of her best friend's bed. Hermione yawned and shook her head.

"I woke up right before your mum came in but I pretended to be asleep so she could talk to you. I figured she didn't want me listening in," Hermione explained, wrapping her arms around her chest shivering.

"Why is it so cold in here!" she asked Ginny, feeling a gust of cold air go through her. The girl shrugged in response, and looked at her friend.

"Maybe it feels colder because you're barely wearing anything," Ginny laughed, seeing her friend's thin tank top over the blankets. Hermione frowned and examined her attire. A flimsy camisole and silky shorts.

'_I figured Ginny changed my clothes last night…I remember falling asleep in the library and then…'_

"Ginny….didn't you change me into these clothes last night?" Hermione asked hesitantly, fearing what the answer may be. Ginny looked confused and shook her head back.

"No, I went to bed pretty early; I didn't even hear you come in the room. Why, you didn't change them yourself?" she questioned. Hermione's face paled realizing who her undresser must have been.

'_Sirius! Oh gods this is a disaster! I didn't mean to fall asleep last night, I was just so tired! He must have carried me to bed and put on my pajamas so I'd be more comfortable…that's so sweet. But Merlin! He saw me in my underwear! I can't face him now, that's going to be so embarrassing. _

_Drat, I forgot...I just remembered he also came into my room last night when I woke up after that terrible dream. Sirius was in his Animagus…but why?_

_ Good lord, this is going to be such a bloody awkward day.'_

"Hermione?" Ginny poked her friend, who seemed to be in a daze.

"Oh sorry," Hermione apologized. Ginny raised an eyebrow at her curiously.

"If you didn't change yourself…and I didn't…who did?" she said slowly, trying to figure out the raised puzzle. Hermione blushed deeply, keeping her eyes off of Ginny's. The red head continued to persist at her reaction.

"Hermione! You know,don't you?!" she accused. The brown haired girl bashfully mumbled something under her breath, hoping Ginny heard so she wouldn't have to repeat herself.

"What was that? I didn't catch it," the Weasley said. Hermione's eyes met her friends, her face flushed terribly.

"Promise you won't say anything?" Hermione pleaded. Ginny stuck out her pinky to her friend.

"Pinky promise!" she proclaimed as Hermione latched her pinky onto hers creating the gesture. Ginny sat expectedly, waiting for the answer. Hermione took a deep breath and said quietly, "Sirius."

"What! How do you know?" Ginny gasped with shock, almost jumping off the bed. Hermione hushed her.

"I was with him in the library last night and I must have fallen asleep there. I think he carried me up here and then put these pajamas on me," she deduced, seeing Ginny's wide eyed expression.

"I can't believe it! Sirius…carried you to sleep, and then put you in your nightclothes! That's…adorable!" Ginny squealed, receiving Hermione's hand smothered over her mouth.

"Shh! Not so loud, I don't want everyone to hear!" Hermione said frantically, looking over to the door, waiting for it to swing open. When she saw that it remained close, she took her hand off Ginny's mouth. The younger girl was grinning furiously.

"Oh my gods, Hermione! This is so exciting, you and Sirius…" she said dreamily. It was Hermione's turn to now gasp with shock as she shook her head rapidly.

"There is no me and Sirius! Are you crazy, Ginny!" Hermione rushed. She couldn't help but linger on how nice 'me and Sirius' sounded.

"**You're crazy** for not realizing he fancies you!" the girl exclaimed. Hermione felt her heart beat race at the thought.

'_He fancies me? No bloody way. Why would Sirius Black even give me the time of day? Ginny must have eaten something Fred and George cooked up to make her delusional.'_

"He doesn't fancy me Ginny. We're just friends, the same way you are with him," Hermione said calmly.

"He does too fancy you! I see the way he looks at you all the time. And I have a feeling you feel something toward him too!" Ginny guessed, staring at Hermione closely with chance that she'd react to her last statement. To the Weaslette's satisfaction, Hermione blushed again and stammered.

"N-n-no! I don't fancy Sirius, that's madness. He's twice my age, and Harry's godfather!" she defended. Ginny waved her words off and smiled.

"Age doesn't really matter in the wizarding world if you haven't noticed by now. I also don't think Harry would mind too much…you would be making his godfather happy for once, not to mention the fact that Sirius is dreadfully handsome," she told her. Hermione quirked an eyebrow, feeling the blush faint.

"You think Sirius is handsome?" she inquired.

"Please don't tell me you haven't noticed, 'Mione. Sirius is downright fit. He doesn't look his age at all; he beats the pants out of all the blokes at Hogwarts," her voice bore a tone that made Hermione's question appear to be obviously ridiculous.

"Well, I mean I know he's good looking but…it just wouldn't work," Hermione said with a hint of sadness she couldn't place.

"Of course it could! You have to take this chance, 'Mione. It could turn out to be the best thing in your life!" Ginny urged her.

"If you think he's so wonderful, why don't you go for him?" Hermione asked her friend, getting up from the bed.

"If you haven't noticed, I have a load of brothers that would castrate him if I even so much as expressed the tiniest bit of interest in him. I've also got a mad crush on Harry, if you haven't forgotten…besides, Sirius would never be interested in me. You're more of his type," Ginny divulged. Hermione stopped rummaging in her trunks, intrigued at Ginny's words.

"Why is that?" she questioned, wondering what Hermione had that Ginny didn't. Her best friend was a million times pretty then Hermione could ever be; she was also funny, charismatic, and carefree. Hermione was dull, boring, and wound up tightly.

"First off, you're a hell of a lot more mature than me. It's not the fact that you're literally older; it's that you've faced so many things at such a young age, it makes you wiser, more experienced. Secondly, you're a genius, and Sirius is probably fascinated by your knowledge because we all know he's very smart, even if he never studied during school," Ginny explained to her. Hermione wasn't satisfied with her reasons.

"So he likes me because I'm mature and smart? Those are hardly good reasons to be interested in someone like me," Hermione said sarcastically. Ginny sighed, clearly knowing Hermione just wouldn't understand.

"Don't you see how good you are, Hermione? You've got everything going for you. You're smart, pretty (Hermione laughed), caring, and you've just got something about you that I can tell he likes. Why can't you accept the fact that he likes you for who you are?" Ginny said quietly. Hermione felt guilty for the attutidue she had given Ginny and swooped down to give her friend a tight hug.

"Thanks Gin," she whispered and pulled away smiling. Ginny grinned back and got up off the edge of Hermione's bed.

"I don't know what I'm going to do about, Sirius though. I'll have to see how things play out. Who knows? Maybe something could happen," Hermione added, mostly to just make Ginny feel like her argument had worked.

'_Maybe it could work though. Maybe…..__**No!**_

_I will never fancy Sirius Black. I won't!'_

She told herself over and over, even though the message was reluctant to sink in.

For the first time in Hermione's life, she did not know the answer to a problem.

_What do I do about Sirius?_

* * *

"Nice of you girls to finally join us," Arthur Weasley said behind his newspaper when he saw the flaming red hair of his daughter and the brown hair of Hermione peek over the top.

"Sorry for taking so long Mrs. Weasley," Hermione apologized as she took her normal seat at the table. The Weasley boys were no where to be seen, and neither was Sirius. Arthur was the only occupant of the table while Molly was fetching the girl's plates.

"It's quite alright dear. The others have already started cleaning since they came down early. You two can join once you finish," she smiled at them. Hermione took a piece of toast from the small stack that was left; relieved to know she would not have to face Sirius so soon.

"So how are things going at work, Mr. Weasley?" Hermione asked the man as he put down his paper. He sighed heavily and took a sip of coffee.

"Not so great, Hermione. They're increasing the tracking on Ministry workers instead of worrying about the safety of everyone else out there in the wizarding world," he told her, frowning at his words.

"How is everyone going to attend the meetings then if their all being tracked?" she wondered.

"Don't worry. We have our ways around the system for the most part. The meetings should go on without hitches," he said;however something in his voice didn't sound too convincing. She dropped the subject and continued eating, sharing small bits of conversation with Ginny as the looming feeling of seeing Sirius came closer.

"Are you finished girls?" Molly asked them both once she saw their plates were empty. Ginny nodded and handed her mother the plate as Hermione reluctantly did the same.

"Ginny, you can head into the basement with your brothers to help out there. Hermione, you can go up to the attic to help Sirius clean there since you both did such a good job on the spare room yesterday," she said happily, not noticing Hermione's petrified face.

'_I have to be alone with him again? Oh gods, this is not good, not good at all.'_

"Okay Mrs. Weasley," she agreed, forcing a smile. She said goodbye to Mr. Weasley and departed from Ginny and made her way upstairs.

* * *

Once on the second floor landing, she looked up and down the hallway for the entrance to the attic but saw nothing resembling a door on either end.

"Where the devil is the attic?" Hermione muttered to herself out loud, scanning the walls around her.

Suddenly, she heard a creaking noise above her and tilted her head back to see the smiling face of Sirius staring back at her with his hair hanging down.

'_He looks like a damn angel…Shit!'_

"Up here, Hermione," he spoke from the opening in the ceiling.

"How do I get up there?" she asked him, not seeing any sort of ladder in sight.

"Oh right, you haven't learned this spell yet," he remembered, pulling out his wand. With a lavish flick, a ladder extending from the ceiling to the floor appeared and he beckoned for her to come up it.

"I hate heights," she grumbled, as she began to climb the ladder, clutching on every bar with her life. Sirius let out a chuckle as he watched her make her way up very, **_very_** slowly.

"Almost there, 'Mione," he encouraged her. Once half of her body was poking through the opening, Hermione felt Sirius strong arms wrap around her waist and hoist her up and place her onto the floor beside him.

"Nice way to start the morning isn't it? A little work out always wakes me up," he smiled with his white teeth shining. Hermione put her hands on her head, trying to flatten her hair that had puffed out even more after the climb.

"Blasted hair…it's no use," she gave up, putting her hands down. Sirius laughed and reached his hand out to touch a strand of it.

"I like it," he said softly, still smiling. Hermione felt her pulse race at his touch and smiled back nervously.

"Want to trade then?" Hermione joked, wanting to relieve the tension she had felt. He pulled his hand back and touched his own hair, biting his lip.

"I really would Hermione but….this hairs been through a lot," he told her, and she scoffed.

"I knew you didn't like my hair **that **much," she said back sarcastically.

"Well, are you ready to tackle the biggest mess in the house?" he asked her, changing the topic. Hermione finally took this moment to look around the room she was sitting in. Around her, cobwebs and dust coated every surface of wood. Boxes were scattered all over the place, with random objects and nick nacks lying on the floor every few feet.

"This is going to take a while, isn't it?" she breathed, her head spinning with the amount of things they had to clean.

"We can do it. Just incinerate everything you find that's useless," he instructed, walking over to the nearest pile of boxes.

"Okay."

Hermione started going through the stack of boxes closest to her, a few feet from Sirius. The silence grew between them as Hermione felt nervous, remembering last nights events.

'_Is he going to say anything about undressing me...Of course not, why would he? He's not that cruel as to embarrass me that much. But I would think he'd mention coming into my room. I can't take not knowing why he did it. Maybe I should just bring it up….'_

"Hermione?" Sirius said. She looked up from the box she was going through and saw him playing with a racket-looking object nervously.

"Something bothering you?" she questioned, seeing him rocking sideways uncomfortably.

"I don't mean to make this awkward or anything…even though I can tell it already is…I just want to know what you were dreaming about last night," he said hesitantly. Hermione felt a wave of relief when he hadn't mentioned the pajama ordeal, but soon felt anxious knwoing he mentioned the dream. She couldn't tell him what she was dreaming about… could she?

'_I promised Sirius…well the dream Sirius, that I would help him with this. But maybe he won't want to be helped. I don't want to make him mad or upset.'_

"It was just a silly dream, no big deal. Thank you for checking on me though," she added, trying to make the issue of his night time visit out in the open. He nodded and scratched his head, still obviously distraught.

"It was no problem. The dream though…you seemed really upset about something and a little scared. I understand if you can't tell me what it was about. I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Sirius voiced his concern. Hermione made a quick decision and decided it wouldn't hurt to tell him.What she saw might not have been true, even though she had a sickening feeling it most defintiley was. This could be her chance to learn more about him and to let him know she was here for him either way.

"It was about you," Hermione stated, looking carefully at the old relic in her hand, avoiding Sirius stare.

"What happened?" he questioned, putting down the stack of dishes in front of him. Hermione took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for this.

"I was at Hogwarts back in your time. You and James were having a conversation and I kind of listened in on it. He was telling you that you needed to leave this house, and then…you showed him your chest," Hermione said quietly, her voice wavering as she continued.

"He…he said this couldn't go on and that you should live with him. You a-a-argued with him saying you didn't want to be a burden to his parents but he insisted and said if you stayed at this house you'd be…k-k-killed," Hermione stammered, feeling tears run down her face. Sirius stood in his place, shocked with disbelief.

'_How…what…she knows! Oh gods…this is bad. This is really bad. No one was supposed to find out about that…especially her. It's too much for a young girl like her to deal with. Too terrible…too much pain.'_

"I'm s-s-sorry. In the dream I promised…I promised you I'd help you deal with your past…I wanted to be there for y-you," she said through a curtain of tears. Sirius stepped towards her and placed a hand on her face, pushing away some stray tears.

"No, Hermione. I'm the one that's sorry. You should have never seen that. It's something you shouldn't have known," he told her softly. She shook her head and pushed his hand down away from her face, realizing what she had seen was true, every last bit.

"I **needed** to see it, Sirius. It's a message…a message that I should be there to help you through this. You can talk to me about it," she urged him quietly. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"Hermione, I know you want to help but you can't….no one can. It's something I have to cope with on my own," he turned down her offer politely, but she insisted.

"Why can't I help you, Sirius?" she pressed on.

"You're young…you've been through a lot. You don't need to hear about these awful things," he responded with a pained expression. This answer was certainly inadequate for Hermione.

"Yes, I **have** been through a lot, which is why I can deal with this. I'm able to face horrendous things, you know that. This won't be any different…Sirius, please. You don't have to do this alone," Hermione begged gently, touching his shoulder. He breathed in and fought with himself, trying to figure out what he should do about his dilemma.

'_You can't let her, Sirius! She's innocent…but then again she isn't in some ways. _

_Maybe she **is** the right person to help me…I really can't do this alone. _

_But what if…what if I let her in? What if Hermione is the one person that brings down my walls leaves me unguarded?_

_What if eventually…I don't want to let her go?_

"I don't know Hermione; it's a difficult situation…" Sirius sighed, looking at the glassy eyed girl before him.

"Fine Sirius...I didn't mean to upset you. Just forget it," Hermione gave up reluctantly. She didn't want to see him like this, as much as it pained her, she had to let it go. She turned back to her box and picked up another object , pausing when a hand landed on hers. Hermione brought her face up to see Sirius staring at their overlapped hands, breathing heavily.

"Help me…please," he barely whispered, squeezing her hand and laying his grey eyes on hers.. She took her hand out from under his and wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace, feeling all sorts of sparks and fluttering within it as they touched. Hermione felt his face bury into her shoulder and wetness slowly soak through her shirt.

**Sirius was crying on her shoulder.**

"I will, Sirius..I will help you….if you answer me one question," she said with a small smile brimming. He pulled away from her and put his hands into his pockets, ignoring the remnants of stained tears on his face.

"What? Anything," he responded, staring curiously at her smiling face.

"Did you really undress me last night?" she asked, feeling a burst of courage. His face paled as he brought his hands to his head.

"Oh no…you don't think I did that ,do you?" he asked her with a worried look. The red tinge of her face answered his question and he took out his wand. She eyed it confused.

"I didn't, I swear, Hermione! I did a switching spell with your clothes while you were under the covers; I promise," he swore, aiming his wand at his own shoes for demonstration.

"Watch," he told her, muttering an incantation. His shoes magically came off of his feet and instead, a pair of old, dusty black boots that were lying on the floor beside them found their way onto Sirius' feet.

"That's amazing," she mused, regarding the spell. Sirius smiled sheepishly and pocketed his wand.

"As little as you may think of me, I'd like you to know I am a gentleman, and I would never do what you thought I did," he assured her. Hermione nodded, feeling oddly light after all of her questions had been resolved.

"I'm happy to know that," Hermione grinned, going back to her box. Seeing nothing important inside, she waved her wand as the box and its contents disappeared in a small puff of smoke.

"One down, one hundred to go," Hermione sighed as she watched the cloud of smoke vanish. She groaned and stared at the mountain of objects in front of them. Sirius rested his arm on her nearest shoulder and pulled his wand out of his pocket and pointed it in front of him.

"_Expurgio,_" he said clearly, and with a bang and a large billow of smoke, everything in front of him vanished. Hermione's mouth gaped opened with shock, pointing at the scene in front of them frantically.

"You didn't sort any of that!" she squeaked, thinking of all the family heirlooms he had destroyed. Sirius shrugged and put his wand away again, taking his arm off her shoulder.

"Ye have little faith," he told her grinning; He turned around and picked up a small box beside him filled to the top. Hermione looked at it curiously.

"What's that?" she asked him. He pulled a Gryffindor flag off of pile of stuff in the box and gave it a wave.

"My stuff," he said simply. Hermione felt a flicker of admiration for the man once she realized what he had done.

"You performed a personal sorting charm before I got here didn't you?" she questioned, shaking her head at his deft.

"You didn't really think I'd have us go through all those boxes today did you? I wanted time to finish telling the story from last night before you konked out on me," he grinned, putting the box back down.

"Sorry about that," she apologized, remembering how she'd fallen asleep halfway throughout the tale.

"Don't worry about it. You're wide awake now, so I'm guessing if we go to the library I can finish the story without you passing out," he laughed heartily. She joined into the laughter as well. When they stopped, Sirius retrieved his wand once more to conjour the ladder.

"I'd normally say ladies first, but since you might plunge to your death, I think I should go down before you to catch you if you fall," he explained, already heading down its rungs. Hermione smiled to herself and thought gleefully..

'_He'll catch me if I fall…'_


	11. The Greatest Prank

**WOW this is the longest chapter I've ever written for a story but its well worth the time. I decided to conclude the Marauder's Prank all in one chapter even though this really could have been split into two. I didn't want to keep anyone in suspense haha. Thanks to all my reviews, and I promise some more interaction between the two. It's just taking a while because I want it to be somewhat realistic. Enjoy!**

* * *

**To Love a Marauder**

Hermione made herself comfortable once again on the comfy library chair across from Sirius; a lot more awake then she was the last time they were here. She let her eyes linger on the concentrating figure of Sirius Black as he leafed through the book in front of him trying to find where he had left off. He stopped at a page and placed his finger down onto the yellowing parchment.

"Well, I found where I left off talking to you, but I have no idea where you stopped listening," he stated with a sly grin. Hermione smiled sheepishly, feeling embarrassed she had dozed on his story telling.

"The last thing I remember is you telling the others about the 'Master Plan' and giving them orders," she recollected thoughtfully, scrunching her nose. Sirius glanced back down at the book, realizing she hadn't missed anything dreadfully important.

"That's pretty much where I stopped, so I guess I'll continue from where I finished," he told her. Leaning back comfortably on the chair, Sirius let his silky voice wash over Hermione as he continued his tale….

_The following day, Sirius was overcome with tingling excitement. The plan wa__s going along smoothly without a hitch so far. Moony and Wormtail had successfully captured an abundance of Gryffindor banners from the storage closet under the protection of the Invisibility Cloak, and had stowed them away in the dormitory. _

"_Are these enough?" Remus had asked Sirius when he and Peter returned from their escapade. The sandy-haired boy emptied the contents in his arms onto the bed. A few dozen miniature Gryffindor flags bounced on the spring mattress at impact. Sirius picked up the tiny flag and scrutinized it, cocking an eyebrow. _

"_Um…Moony?" he asked, dangling the flag at eyelevel. "Aren't these a little small?" _

_The werewolf looked at his best friend with an incredulous stare. Was Sirius really that daft?_

"_Have you lost a few brain cells, Padfoot?" James ,catching part of the two's exchange asked as he emerged from the bathroom. He bounded over to Sirius with droplets of water dripping down his forehead._

"_No, why?" Sirius questioned, furrowing his brow. James sighed loudly and grabbed his wand that was resting on the night stand._

"_Engorio," he said, directing his wand at the flag that mingled at the end of Sirius' fingertips. Instantly, the tiny flag increased a hundred fold, draping over Padfoot, easily being three times his size._

"_Bloody hell! These are huge!" Sirius exclaimed in awe, pulling the silk banner off of himself. Remus smiled smugly and pointed to the lot of them on the bed._

"_And there's about 30 more of them," he commented, feeling proud of his ingenious way to shrink them to carry as many as possible back to the dorm. Peter, who had hung back by the door, finally had found his courage to join the circle of boys. When he approached, Sirius smiled broadly and clapped the pudgy boy on his back._

"_Well done, well done mates, these will be perfect!" he congratulated them gleefully. He then turned to James, feeling slightly relaxed knowing Phase 1 of the mission was completed._

"_Alright, Prongs. Now all we have to do is head down to Hogsmeade during break and we're home free," he reminded the jet black haired boy. James nodded and picked up the silvery Invisibility Cloak that was resting on the bed and shoved it into his school uniform hastily. _

"_Might as well bring it with us so we don't have to stop by at the dorm later to waste time," he figured, seeing the boys nod in agreement._

"_Excellent thinking!" Sirius complimented his friend's foresight. _

_ He was feeling downright giddy about now; knowing it was his turn to shine this time. Sirius always seemed to be second to the infallible James Potter, not that he minded, it was just that he was glad it was finally his turn for a moment of shining glory. He grinned at the thought._

"_Oh Remus, don't forget to talk to Lily about helping us, and also stopping in the library for that book," Sirius addressed the light eyed boy. Remus nodded and pointed to the small pile of banners._

"_I'll remember, don't you worry Padfoot. I just hope you remember to hide those," he warned his friend, smirking lightly. Sirius' mouth formed an 'O' and he quickly opened his trunk and tossed the items on the bed into it. After sealing it shut and placing a locking spell on it, he stood up ready to leave._

"_Shall we?" James asked the others, extending his elbow out. Sirius linked his arm with James' and offered his free one to Remus. Moony took it and latched his other onto Peter and the four made there way out of the dormitory and to the Great Hall._

* * *

_By midday, Sirius felt like he was floating on Cloud Nine; he simply could not believe his luck. Moony had just finished telling him that he had convinced Lily, after much pleading and brown nosing, to help them out. She was still hesitant about it but Remus assured her it was all in good fun and that no one would be hurt during the prank. She seemed to be more accepting at this thought. Lily even helped Remus search the library for the perfect book on Illusions, which to Sirius' content, they found fairly quickly. The last things that needed to be retrieved now were the fireworks from Zonko's. Sirius and James were going to embark on this conquest as soon as Trewlaney was done ranting about how James was destined to become a famous Wizard Rock singer._

"_Eight of your songs will go to number 1, dear boy!" the bug-eyed Divination teacher predicted to James, wringing his hands furiously. James, sitting very stiff-like next to Sirius at one of the small tables fought hard to keep from rolling his eyes as the middle aged teacher persisted on the subject,_

"_I see you making more galleons than the Minister of Magic himself! You will be ravished with the most expensive items, the most beautiful women, and everything your heart desires!" she burst out, ignoring the small giggles that chorused around her. Trewlaney, noticing James wasn't too interested in her prediction, sauntered off to predict someone elses' admirable future. Sirius on the other hand, completely lost control of himself as he began to snicker loudly. James kicked him from under the table, and saw Sirius wince. However, the blow wasn't enough to stop his friend's chortling as he grasped the table to catch his breath. _

"_And what do you think is so funny? I'm the one that's going to be rich and famous you idiot!" James said angrily, feeling an embarrassed blush rise to his cheeks. Sirius shook his head, smiling madly._

"_Oh nothing, Jamesy. I think it's great that you're going to have a bunch of hit songs, "My Wand is Bigger than Yours" being one of them," Sirius remarked, slapping his hand on his knee in response to his own joke. James scowled and crossed his arms over his chest feeling insulted._

"_You're lucky I don't refuse to let you use the Cloak to go to Hogsmeade," James threatened, smiling to himself. Sirius' glee disappeared in a flash as his face bore a look of concern and fear._

"_You wouldn't dare! We're in on this prank together!" he searched his friends' eyes, hoping to see a faint spark of joking. James was kidding of course, he wanted this prank to happen as well, it just amused him to see Sirius buttons pressed._

"_Calm down, mate. I'm just playing with you," James told his friend, seeing Sirius' face loose with a wave of relieve. _

"_Thank the gods," Sirius mumbled, looking briefly at his watch to see that class would be over in about thirty seconds._

"_No, just thank my adventurous and antsy side of me that wants this as much as you do," James said, hearing Sirius low voiced comment. _

"_Class is dismissed, children. Remember to analyze your tea leaves tonight! The moon is in the ideal location to receive an accurate reading!" the Professor said over the rush of students that gathered their belongings and darted out of the door. Sirius and James quickly picked up their things and headed out of the Tower, practically running to the Statue where the secret passage was, knowing they were short on time._

"_Anyone coming from your direction?" James panted as he put his hands on his knees to catch his breath, while staring down his end of the empty hallway. Sirius, who had his back to his friend, scanned the opposite direction, seeing the last student turn the corner, leaving the hall to the two boys._

"_Coast is clear, hurry up and toss the cloak on us!" Sirius directed. James yanked the silver object from under his robes and threw in unceremoniously over himself and his friend. The two approached the statue of the ugly witch and Sirius brandished his wand, tapping it on the head whispering 'Dissendium.' The passage way revealed itself and the boys slipped wordlessly into the darkness, checking over their shoulders once last time to make sure they were undetected. _

"_We've got to go fast," James said, once they were safely inside. He pulled the cloak off themselves and put it away._

"_If we're going to jog this, I need a moment to stretch," Sirius said cockily, as he began performing some sort of calisthenics. James shook his head, looking annoyed at his friend who had begun doing a weak attempt of a lunge._

"_If your done limbering yourself up, I think we should get a move on," James sneered half heartedly. Sirius sighed dejectedly and rose up from his bent position._

"_Let's hit it."_

_The males raced down the passage way, first at a fairly steady jogging pace but soon full out sprinting. It had turned into an unsaid contest between the two, noting that James was clearly winning. The boy was not only superb at flying, but quite skilled in running as well, showing a stamina and physical fitness that Sirius had never seen before. The longer haired boy was struggling to keep up, wheezing loudly as they began to approach the Honeydukes cellar. _

"_Give...me…a sec," Sirius spurt out, stopping in his tracks doubled over in exhaustion. James smiled at the stealthy surrender, jumping up and down to look as if he could do this for hours._

"_Oh come on, Padfoot. We're practically there," James whined mockingly, hoping to get a rise out of the gasping boy. Sirius took a deep breath and glared at the little fitness robot bouncing around in front of him._

"_Bugger off, will you? I'm sorry I'm not a natural athlete like yourself. Instead of running like yourself, I choose to indulge myself in more….worthwhile activities that involve a partner," Sirius said with a waggle of his eyebrows, knowing damn well that James was very aware of what he was talking about._

"_Well I may not be maintaining my physical fitness with midnight romps, but at least I can run for a few minutes without damn near dying," James pointed out. Sirius grasped the cramp in his side as he stood up and walked over to his friend._

"_Oh, and at least I'm not fat like you either," James added with a devilish twinkle in his eyes. It was a sure fact that Sirius would probably kill him for making a joke about his weight, even though anyone else could see Sirius was very slim and muscular._

"_Fat! Me, fat? Why I've got the body of a---"Padfoot started, but stopped when he witnessed James creep up to the trap door above._

"_Shhh, someone's in the cellar," he said quietly, pressing his eye to the wood. After a few moments of silence, he waved his hand over for Sirius to join him, and he pushed the door up. The boys climbed up into the empty cellar, proceeding cautiously._

"_There aren't many people in the store this time of the year, so it's going to be hard to come up unnoticed," James explained, pulling out the ever so faithful Invisibility Cloak. Sirius simply nodded, knowing his voice always seemed to be unnaturally loud even when he whispered, hence why he kept quiet. _

_They creaked open the small bit of floorboard that belonged to Honeydukes, peering around the ground, looking for a sign of feet. With nothing to be seen, they lifted the latch up more so that they could climb out. Once above, the boys stood in the midst of racks and racks of assorted sweets, their wrappers glistening in the bright lighting of the store. Sirius was tempted to grab a bunch of them to save for later but James dragged him away, keeping an eye out for the store manager._

"_Hey, I'm hungry!" Sirius complained in a whisper as James pulled him out of the entrance to the store into the sunny sky outside. _

"_Aren't we here to get something?" James reminded his friend; satisfied when he saw Sirius purse his lips and shake his head._

"_Yes, yes, you're right. Let's hurry up and get to Zonko's already," Black said reluctantly. They rushed up the dirt paths to a small, however, jam packed store. In front of Zonko's, the boys removed the cloak seeing no one they knew around. Stepping inside, they were quickly greeted by the loud, excited voice of the store's owner, Mr. Zonko._

"_Hello Mr. Potter and Mr. Black! Back again I see?" the short, baldy man clad in purple robes greeted then. Of course he knew their names, how couldn't he? The boys and their other two friends had bought practically every item in the shop at one point or another, making them his most valued customers. _

"_I'm sorry to seem curt, but we've got to get back up to school soon, and we need to get something specific," Sirius politely told the rambunctious man. Mr. Zonko nodded in understanding, respecting their risk in coming here._

"_Of course, gentlemen. What is it you seek?" he asked them as he walked toward the register, the boys tailing behind him._

"_We need a large supply of fireworks," James addressed the man. Mr. Zonko nodded at the boys._

"_Any specific colors or style?" _

"_Scarlet and gold would be wonderful, if you have them," Sirius told Mr. Zonko, his eyes roaming over the boxes and boxes of fireworks that took up the wall behind the register. Mr. Zonko spun around and scanned this very wall, finding the row he was looking for._

"_It's your lucky day, we happen to have a whole shipment of them. Any particular kind you'd like?" he inquired. Sirius inwardly cheered, ecstatic at the fact that they wouldn't have to Charm the fireworks to be the proper colors, saving them precious time._

"_The louder and bigger the better," James took the words right out of Sirius' mouth. Mr. Zonko reached out and grabbed a stack of boxes from the shelf, piling them up high._

"_Each box contains a fifteen minute fireworks show in the colors you wanted. These are deafening, gigantic, and exactly what you are looking for," Mr. Zonko's eyes sparkled mischievously. Sirius stared at the dozen boxes of fireworks and did a quick calculation in his head. The fireworks would go on for about three hours if they purchased them all, which seemed like a good time span._

"_We'll take them," the boys said in unison, reaching into the pockets to retrieve their sacks of golden galleons. _

_Mr.Zonko hummed merrily as he rung up the boys purchases, and put their many galleons into the register._

"_How are we going to get all this back to school?" Sirius wondered with a worried expression. James groaned and pulled out his wand._

"_Honestly, weren't you paying attention to a thing this morning?" he rhetorically asked, casting a spell on the boxes, shrinking them in size. Now, all twelve boxes fit easily into the pockets of their robes. _

"_Oh right, that bloody shrinking trick," Sirius grumbled. _

"_We'll see you soon Mr. Zonko. It's time for us to get back now," James told the man as the boys bid farewell to him._

"_Goodbye, gentleman! I hope you visit me again on your next visit," the joke shop owner called out as the door closed behind them._

_Sirius glanced at his watch again, his heart dropping as he realized they barely had twenty minutes to get back. He merely pointed a finger at his watch and James understood. Tossing the cloak on them both, they dashed to Honeydukes and burst through the door, ignoring any disturbance they may have made. Sirius wrenched the floorboard open and they dropped down in to the cellar. Once in the passageway, they began their full on run back to the castle, Sirius cursing the entire way there._

* * *

"_Finally!" James exclaimed as they burst through the witch's hump. He waited patiently for Sirius, glancing around to make sure they were accompanied. No one seemed to be wandering for the time being, but it was inevitable that someone was bound to show up._

"_Hurry Sirius!" James called into the darkness. A minute later, Sirius emerged from the tunnel, red faced with a lack of oxygen. James helped pull him out as he let Sirius have a second to steady his breathing._

"_I know you're tired but we've got to get to the dorms to drop this stuff off before classes start. We've got ten minutes," James regretfully informed his friend. Sirius, lacking the breath to speak, nodded and followed James down the halls._

_Their time was dwindling as they entered the dormitories in relief. Even James was now short on breath. He motioned to Sirius to open his trunk that held the banners. After unlocking it, Sirius flung the top open and the two dumped their purchases into it._

"_We're homefree," Sirius announced with a grin as he locked his trunk and flopped onto his bed in bliss. They had retrieved everything flawlessly, making him feel as if their job was pretty much done._

"_Ugh…Padfoot, we've got potions in a minute," James moaned, heading for the door. Sirius sighed and got up from his overly comfortable bed, giving it a longing glances as he rushed to exit the room. It didn't matter if they were a few minutes late anyway. It's not like that hasn't happened before._

_

* * *

_

"_Wow, I can't believe everything is going so…well," Remus mused. The other boys nodded in agreement. Their pranks always seemed to go wrong somehow, one way or another. Usually they worked, but not without a few obstacles in their way. It was almost as if it was almost necessary to perform this prank, like it was needed._

"_I know, it's truly a first for us," Sirius commented, pausing to throw a seductive smirk at a gang of eye batting Ravenclaw girls that passed them, staring dreamily at Sirius. _

"_Keep it in your pants, will you?" James said, disgusted. In his mind, he thought guys should only have eyes for one girl, and James knew perfectly well whose his was. And to his surprise, she happened to be coming in their direction from the opposite end of the hall._

"_Hello Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James," the smooth voice of Lily Potter bade her greeting to them as she approached. Her red hair glistened in the light, and her green eyes sparkled with intensity. It didn't take Trewlaney to figure out why James was attracted so deeply to the beautiful girl. Yet, it was her brilliance and hard to get attitude that really struck a cord with him._

"_Good afternoon my sweet," James purred, picking up her soft hand and kissing it lightly. Lily tried to scowl, but failed miserably as she blushed lightly._

"_You never give up do you Potter?" she asked, knowing his answer would be the same every time._

"_Like hell I won't," he said with a grin, receiving one in return from the girl who plagued his dreams._

"_Sorry to break up this lovely reunion here, but we've got work to do," Sirius interrupted. Immediately, Lily and James turned their attention to the grey eyed boy, pushing their small flirtations aside for the moment._

"_Do you have everything you need?" Lily asked, shifting her books to her other arm. Chivalrously, James took the books from her arms, earning a smile as a reward for his actions._

"_Yup, it's all in the dormitory," Sirius divulged. Lily, surprisingly, appeared to be pleased with this news and turned as she started down the hallway._

"_You boys coming?" she called over her shoulder, a few yards away. James scampered after her. Sirius looked at Peter and Remus next to him as a smirk flaunted on his face._

"_To the dormitories!" he yelled, and the three took off down the hallway after the other two._

_

* * *

_

"_I think I've finally got it!" an excited squeal from Lily came from one end of the boy's dormitory. Sirius head snapped up from the fireworks he was sorting, while Peter and James paused in muttering spells to the banners that lay before them. Remus, standing next to Lily, was beaming with pride at the girl next to him, the Illusion book under his arm._

"_Fantastic, let's see it!" Sirius exclaimed as the three boys dashed over to sit on the bed nearest Remus and Lily. She cleared her throat nervously, and waved her wand in a complicated pattern._

"_Illusio Lionessa," she said loudly with a boast of confidence in her voice as she met James' caring eyes. Out of the tip of her wand, a golden mist erupted and before their eyes, a life sized lion crouched on the floor in front them._

"_Merlin's beard!" James bellowed as he flung himself toward the headboard of the bed in fear. It took all of Sirius' Gryffindor courage to simply gulp loudly and stay put. Peter bounded off the bed and stood behind Remus, cowering for protection. The lion prowled up and down the dormitory._

"_He's not so bad," Lily cooed lovingly at the feline. It seemed the lion had heard her and it jumped onto the nearest bed, throwing its mane back and roaring loudly. By now, all of the Marauders and Lily were huddled in a corner, watching the lion snarl and hiss._

"_That's….," Sirius whispered, eyes wide glaring at the beast, "INCREDIBLE!"_

_He pushed himself out of their close knit circle and danced a little jig._

"_Brilliant! Amazing! Oh gods this is going to have everyone absolutely crazy!" Sirius babbled on incessantly. Remus' mouth gaped open with shock._

"_You can't be serious, can you Sirius?" he asked, not bothering to joke about his name. _

"_You bet your fangs I am!" Padfoot yelled, staring s at the lion, simply smitten._

"_People will be scared out of their wits if they see it. They might think it's real," Remus argued with a worried frown. Sirius waved his hand, dismissing his words._

"_Nonsense, they'll know they are fake when the see a bunch of them running around. Plus, their kind of transparent, so that's a big giveaway," he stated, blatantly correct. The lion before them appeared authentic, but in the light, it was easy to see through the creature._

"_I have to conjour more than one?" Lily spoke up, casting an anxious glance at the prank leader._

"_You can do it Lily. Just think how much our house will bond together," Sirius told her, knowing she couldn't resist the idea of house unity._

"_I mean…I guess I could…," she agreed slowly. Sirius clapped his hands together, getting a loud growl from the lion in response._

"_It's settled then. We're set!" he exclaimed. The others gradually began to grin, realizing their plan was near completion. James squeezed Lily's shoulder next to him and leaned it to whisper in her ear, smelling her jasmine scented perfume._

"_You might want to get rid of that lion," he purred lightly in her ear, making her cheeks red. With a wave of her wand, the illusion disappeared and she turned to James._

"_What, is the James Potter scared of a little lion? I didn't know you were such a pussy," she replied smugly. The others, having heard this, howled with laughter as they made their way back to the scattered banners and firework boxes._

"_I-I-I'm not a pussy!" Potter stammered, beat by his own lover. _

"_No, you're a dick. Now get over here and help us finish these up," Sirius shouted from the other end of the room. James sighed and he pulled Lily along with him to help the others complete the charming of the banners._

_

* * *

That evening..._

_The lights in the Gryffindor common room were all extinguished except for the flickering flame of the fireplace that shed a dim glow on the room. Surrounding a small circular table, five figures clad in black sat, talking in low whispers._

"_Me and Peter are going to take the firework boxes and plant them in these corridors," Sirius spoke in a quiet whisper, pointing at an outlined area on the Marauder's Map that lay unfolded on the table._

"_We're going to Charm them so they go off at exactly 3 P.M tomorrow. Now, Remus and James, you can set the banners up here," Sirius directed, his shaggy black hair shined in the light as he pointed to certain areas in the same corridors the fireworks were being placed in._

"_You guys can Charm them so that they stay rolled up and invisible all day until 3 P.M. We want everything to go off at once with a big bang," he explained, seeing the boys nod their face. He turned his attention next to the red head sitting beside James._

"_You will hold onto the Map, since we know the halls like the back of our hands, we don't need it. All you have to do is keep watch for anyone patrolling to corridors, and if you see someone moving on the map, go find them and distract them. Since you're a Prefect, you have an excuse to be in the halls, but as you know we do not, so we need your lookout while we plant the stuff," he said quietly to her as she nodded._

"_What about tomorrow thought? How am I supposed to get out of class to cast the Illusions?" she asked him, her green eyes confused._

"_I'm going to send a fake letter to your Muggle Studies teacher via owl saying that she is to let you out of class to go visit Madame Pomfrey at around 2:45. This will give you enough time to cast the five lions before the chaos of the shrieking banners and fireworks go off," Sirius tactically told her. _

"_We should get going, it's already pretty late," James announced in a hushed voice. Sirius nodded and got up, motioning for everyone to head to the room's exit. _

_As they stepped outside the painting, James threw the Invisibility Cloak over the four of them, even though it wouldn't cover their feet. It didn't really matter because it was very dark, so he figured as long as the majority of their bodies were covered it was okay. Lily looked right at them, not able to see them, but aware of where they stood. She clutched the Map to her chest and gave them one final fleeting glance as she took off down one of the hallways._

"_Here goes nothing," Remus muttered as the foursome, their pockets loaded with shrunken fireworks and banners, took off down one of the halls._

_Their 'decorating' was about to begin._

_

* * *

_

_Lily walked hesitantly down one of the corridors that branched from Gryffindor tower, staring at the Map carefully at wand light. She was a nervous wreck, especially since she was new to this whole prank thing. She normally watched the boys perform their work disdainfully, never daring to participate, but now, she was a partner in their crazy scheme. _

"_Those silly gits are going to get me expelled," she muttered to herself, brining her eyes closer to the map. The halls she knew the boys were in (she saw their quick moving dots) were clear of any teachers so she dragged her eyes to stare at the other corridors nearby. She felt her heart skip a beat as a small dot moved hurriedly along the hall that connected directly with the one James frantically bounded around in. Lily squinted her green eyes and brought her wand closer to the parchment to read the labeled dot._

_Lucius Malfoy_

"_Oh shit!" Lily cursed, realizing the Head Boy would love nothing more than to catch James Potter in the act of breaking rules. Lily spun on the spot and headed back down the hall, sprinting to reach James. As she took a sharp right turn, she decided to stop to check the map. Glancing at it, she saw that sure enough, Lucius was headed right toward James. They'd meet face to face in less than a minute is Lily couldn't get there first. She focused all her energy and speed into barreling down the halls, not bothering to keep her steps quiet. _

_She was so absorbed in running, she didn't see the black attired male in front of her and she crashed into the person's chest forcefully, falling backward, only to be caught by strong arms._

"_Lily, what's wrong?" a confused James Potter asked the girl he held. She sighed in relief and planted her feet onto the ground, speaking in a rushed whisper._

"_Lucius is coming down the hall, he should be here any second, you have to leave now!" _

"_Well, well, well. If it isn't bookworm Evans and Pea Brain Potter. What gives me the pleasure of finding you two out here…so late after curfew? the bleach blonde couldn't keep the delight out of his voice in finding the two Gryffindor. He had approached them from behind, smirking all over the place._

"_For your information, Malfoy, I am a Prefect and I am allowed to be out of bed," Lily hissed, recognizing the voice and turning around to meet eyes with the hateful pureblood. James reached for her hand to comfort her, gripping it tightly as she squeezed back._

"_Unfortunately you're right about that Mudblood," he spat, smiling as he watched James plunge his hand into his robes to retrieve his wand._

"_No, don't James! He's not worth it," Lily stopped him, taking his arm out of his robes. The Malfoy sneered and twirled his wand in one hand._

"_You should listen to her, Potter. I guess her brains may be catching up to her radiant beauty," Lucius snarled, licking his lips at the girl. James had it with the older boy, he didn't care if he got expelled. No one but him ever dared hit on Lily Evans, most definitely not Malfoy._

"_Stupefy!" a loud voice boomed and a jet of red light fired in the air. Lucius' eyes glazed over as he dropped to the ground in front of James and Lily. A satisfied Sirius Black emerged from the darkness, pocketing his wand. Lupin and Pettigrew were at his side, examining the damage._

"_Doesn't that stupid arse know when to shut up?" Sirius growled, purposely stepping on the Malfoy's blonde locks. _

"_Thanks for that one, Black. I thought I was going to give him the old Avada-Kedavra," James said with a grim smile. Lily gasped and slapped his chest meekly in horror._

"_James Potter, if you became a murderer, I'd never date you," she scolded him. To her dismay, the boy beside her smiled widely and grabbed her waist, hoisting her from the floor._

"_So, does that mean you'll date me?" he asked her happily. Lily groaned, discovering at last, she could no longer hide her true feelings from the boy._

"_If you promise not to hex anyone to death, then yes," she agreed. James let out a whoop and embraced the girl tightly, receiving cat calls and whistles from the on looking Marauders._

"_That was lovely, really it was, but we should head back now. Everything's in place and we've got a long day tomorrow," Remus yawned. The group grudgingly began their walk back to Gryffindor tower, Lily and James hand in hand, marking the beginning of a tragic story._

_

* * *

_

"_I hope this is convincing, I don't know what we're going to do if her teacher doesn't buy it," Sirius whispered to James, regarding the letter he had forged to Lily's Muggle Studies Teacher. _

"_Let me see it," James said. Sirius handed the letter over, fidgeting dreadfully in his chair. He looked up to make sure Flitwick was still busy showing gloating over Snivellus' wonderful Protection Charm. Just as he'd hoped, the small teacher was garbling on gleefully to the sullen, dark haired boy, slapping his back in congratulations._

"_It'll work, Padfoot. Teachers don't usually question old Pomfrey on anything," James assured his friend, handing the letter back to him. Sirius nodded and shot his hand into the air._

"_Professor?" he inquired. Flitwick turned around startled, remembering he was teaching a class of students and not just Snape._

"_May I help you Mr.Black? Do you have a problem with the spell?" The balding wizard asked. Sirius shook his head while discretely pocketing the letter._

"_May I go to the bathroom?" Sirius requested. Flitwick nodded curtly, and turned back to his prized student. The shaggy haired boy rose from his seat and spoke quietly to his friend before departing._

"_If all goes well I'll see you outside in the hallway at 3," he said with a mischievous grin. James returned the grin, wishing Sirius luck as he strut out of the room._

_Exiting the classroom, Sirius made a beeline to the Owlry that was a corridor away. He checked occasionally for a stray teacher wandering the halls in case they questioned him for straying the path to the bathroom._

_Safely, he reached the doors to the Owlry and opened them slowly, preventing a loud creak. Sweeping the hair out of his glistening grey eyes, he bounded the stairs to the large, spacious room. Hundreds of owls' hooted merrily around him, greeting the boy. Sirius rushed over to the tawny owls on the closest wall; those were meant for local deliveries within the castle. He grabbed an owl that seemed to be dying for a delivery. Attaching the letter swiftly to the bird leg, he spoke to it softly._

"_Please deliver this to Mrs. Smith, the Muggle Studies teacher," Sirius told the owl. It cocked it's head, listening to the tall male's direction. With a happy nip, the owl took off outside the expansive window, fluttering its wings in grace._

_Sirius breathed a sigh of relief; they had reached the end. All that was left now was to pray that everything went accordingly, which was ironically the most important part of the prank. Taking once last glance around, Sirius turned to leave, sporting an extra pep in his step._

_

* * *

_

_For the first time this school year, or perhaps in all of their years at Hogwarts, the four Marauders sat in utter silence. Even Professor McGonagall noticed the oddity amongst the boys and quirked an eyebrow their way. None of them seemed to notice the gesture; the only movement made was Sirius Black's constant glancing at the large wooden clock in front of the classroom._

"_2:59 on the dot," Sirius announced in a mutter. The boys shared a nervous glance with each other as they held their breaths. James began to tap his fingers nervously on their table as Remus toyed with his quill furiously. Peter chewed his lip, while Sirius strained his ears for any possible inclination of a lion's roar tha__t would signal the success of Lily's task._

"_Is something wrong here, boys? I know a disturbance in the students of my house when I see one, and you four look like you've seen a pack of dementors," the Gryffindor head of house asked the boys as she approached their table undetected. The heads of the boys shot up, suddenly noticing they had company._

"_Nope, everything's fine. We're just really excited about the Quidditch match tomorrow," James said brightly, knowing he was half lying. As the Transfiguration Professor opened her mouth to persist the issue, a loud blast of noise overpowered her. To anyone's ears, it sounded like a large bomb had exploded. The deafening sound, however, did not stop, and continued on as nervous students glanced at each other. Professor McGonagall's face paled with fright as she whipped out her wand and sprinted to leave the room, her age not doing her justice._

_The four Marauders at the table felt their hearts thump as they looked at each other, smiling uncontrollably. Sirius was the first to rise; undoubtedly showing he was the mastermind of the plan from the get go and that he would follow it through. _

"_It's Showtime boys!" he yelled to his friends and they all raced after their professor, closely followed by the rest of the class stampeding after them, talking in excited voices. _

_The Marauders burst out of the classroom door, and gaped in shock and disbelief as they witnessed first hand the chaos and beauty of their prank._

_The long corridor they stood in __currently resembled a larger scale version of the American holiday "Mardi Gras," except in this case, an explosion of scarlet and gold substituted the traditional colors of purple and green. Draping from the ceiling were the countless Gryffindor banners, waving vigorously while flashing beams and sparks of different color lights all __about, bouncing off the hallway walls in an impressive light show. Sayings such as "Lions til Death!" and "Gryffindor for the Cup!" shrieked from each hanging in a high pitched voice, even though it was damn near impossible for the words to be clearly heard over the racket the fireworks were producing._

_Ah, the fireworks. Sirius was impressed by them more than anything else. The ceiling as well as everywhere else in hall was filled with booming and whistling as the scarlet and gold fireworks exploded left and right, showering sparks down towards the ground. The noise sounded like a million and one cannons going off at the same time accompanied by the screaming crowd of the Quidditch World Cup. Even the boys didn't expect the show the joke shop purchases put on. _

"_Lion's in the corridor! Lion's in the corridor, Minerva!" a screaming Argus Filch exclaimed as he hobbled toward the panicked elder woman. The boys took their eyes off the decorations and looked on the ground level at the students rushing every which way, yelling and squealing with delight, especially the Gryffindors. Through the crowd, they could spot the hulking illusions of a pair of lions pouncing through the hall, growling and roaring at groups of students. _

"_Who in Merlin's name did this?" Minerva whispered, frankly in awe of the rigorous and drenching sense of House Pride that reeked in the school at the very moment. She glanced sideways at the four boys beside her who were smirking with delight, obviously at their own work._

"_Come on!" James screamed over the racket and started maneuvering through the crowds. The boys followed behind him trying to avoid running into all of the people. It appeared that every class in the castle was currently spilled out into the hall, and they guessed the other halls they had decorated were the same._

"_James!" a high pitched shriek came from ahead of them. Through a patch of excited Ravenclaws, the red hair of Lily Evans emerged as she dashed to the boys._

"_Isn't it…amazing!" the green eyed girl squealed once they had reunited. Her eyes sparkled in amazement as she looked over the scene. _

_"You are amazing love! The lions are spectauclar," James told his now-girlfriend, hugging her tightly._

"_Bloody hell, I didn't even dream of it turning out half this good," Sirius mused, still awe struck at his accomplishments. He felt a few slaps on his back as he turned his head to see the Marauders grinning at him, pride etched onto their faces._

"_You did a fantastic job, mate. This is one for the history books," Remus told his friend as he watched a few members of the Gryffindor quidditch team zoom past on broom sticks. _

"_Too bad the teachers are going to ruin it soon," Peter said sadly. Sirius reverted his gaze to glance around the hall for a sign of resistance._

"_I don't think…they want it to stop," James said in almost a whisper; his arm wrapped firmly around Lily's waist. __Sirius finally saw the group James had been referring to. A small knot of teachers and Hogwart's staff stood in the middle of the chaos with faces lit up in wonder, almost as jubilant as those youthful ones around them. In the very middle of it all stood Albus Dumbledore, the twinkle in his eyes visible from where the boys stood. _

"_Take a look at Slytherins faces!" James remarked, pointing to the left side on the corridor, where a pack of scowling green clad serpents stood. Sirius roared with laughter as one of the Illusion lion's pounced on Lucius Malfoy. The blonde scrambled out from under the beast and tore down the hallway past the Marauders screaming. _

"_Serves you right you bloody git!" Sirius yelled loudly, hoping the Malfoy caught his words. The group fell into hysterics as they simply watched the scene before them: Students pointing and beaming at the fireworks, Gryffindor's chanting along with the banner's shrieks, and everyone either petrified or astounded by the golden lions._

_It was perfection in the grey eyes of Sirius Black. His orbs danced with happiness and excitement; witnessing his imagination unfold before him. _

"_Hey, we never got supplies for the Common Room party!" James remembered suddenly. Sirius smirked and placed a hand on his friends shoulder._

"_It's taken care of, Prongs."_

"_How?" James asked his friend, with narrowed eyebrows. _

"_I went to the kitchens this morning and told the elves to have food and drinks set out in the Common Room at 6 P.M tonight. I figured even if we get busted, we should still leave behind a treat for our fellow Gryffindors," Sirius told them smugly. The other Marauder's and Lily shook their heads at the same time. Lily sighed loudly, tossing back her red mane._

"_Sirius Black, you've truly outdone yourself this time," she told him with a quick survey of the continued pandemonium. Sirius smiled widely and turned to James._

"_If you lose this match, I __**will**__ kill you," he threatened, trying his hardest not to laugh. His attempt was feeble as the entire posse started to crack up amidst the scene of sheer brilliance and creative instinct, courtesy of Sirius Black._

* * *

"And there you have it; the conclusion of our greatest work," Sirius slammed the book closed with a reminiscing smile. Hermione sat up in her chair and brought her hands together, clapping in applause.

"That was absolutely wonderful! I can't believe you guys were so…." Her voice wandered, trying to find the right word.

"Clever, cunning, imaginative?" Sirius guessed. Hermione shook her head, finding her answer.

"Reckless!" she exclaimed with a smirk.

"You're right about that. We were damn near crazy to pull a stunt like that, but I don't regret it one bit. That was probably the greatest day of my life. Not only did we give everyone a lovely mid-day surprise and early finish to classes, but we also threw an amazing party as well. Not to mention we won the next day's match by about 500 points," Sirius told the brown eyed girl.

"I wish I could be more like you," she said with a hint of disappoint in his voices. Sirius laughed and the girl looked up, confused.

"I didn't mean it to be funny," Hermione frowned. Sirius stopped laughing and leaned forward, shaking his index finger sternly.

"If I ever find out that your doing anything idiotic as that, I will personally come to Hogwarts and knock some sense into you," he said, meaning each word of his threat. All Hermione could do in response was smirk back and raise and eyebrow.

"I'd like to see you, Sirius Black, most wanted person in the wizarding world; stroll up to the gates and walk right up to Gryffindor tower to come collect me,."

Sirius scowled, realizing he had been beaten. Glaring at the girl, he got up from his seat and walked behind her chair, leaning down to whisper in her ear, taking in a waft of her vanilla scented hair as his warm breath trickled on her.

"Let them try and stop me."


	12. Order! Order!

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm going on vacation for a week so I'll be back in a week, hopefully updating very soon once I come home. So I tried to make this chapter a little longer to make up for my absence. Keep in mind that a lot of it revolves around an Order meeting. I figured to make this more realistic, I'd have to incoporate meetings into the fic. So please review and I'll see you in a week!

* * *

**To Love a Marauder**

"What ya reckon their talking about down there?" the youngest Weasley male asked while shoving a spoonful of beef stew down his throat. Disgusted at his gruesome eating display, Hermione scrunched her nose and looked away to face the rest of the red heads that sat in the girls room.

"I'm assuming whatever their discussing might have to deal with that secret weapon Sirius told us about," Hermione speculated, putting her spoon down onto her rusted tray with a clank. Fred and George, who were sprawled on the floor flipping through Quidditch magazine, sat up with identical puzzled expression on both of their faces.

"Maybe it's some top secret deadly potion!" Fred said suddenly, the wheels in his brain churning. Hermione perused his suggestion but found it to be highly doubtful.

"There's already plenty of deadly potions in existence and I'm sure You-Know-Who could brew them anytime he wants," she told them her opinion. Ginny nodded her head in agreement from next to Hermione and placed her own tray onto the bed stand with shaky hands.

"I think their talking about Harry," the red head said quietly, avoiding the upward glances that landed on her. Hermione tentatively placed a hand on Ginny's back soothingly, hoping the other boys wouldn't think too much into her gesture.

"I'm sure that if they are talking about him it has to do with protecting him and keeping him safe. He's got the entire Order on his side guarding him; Harry's going to be fine," she reassured the younger girl, giving her a final pat on the back. Ginny looked up at Hermione to see her friends kind and warm smile.

"You're right, he's in good hands," Ginny sighed and absentmindedly twiddled her fingers.

"I hope Harry gets here soon, I need a guy to talk to that isn't one of these two knuckle heads," Ron remarked, jerking his head in the direction of the twins who were now fiddling with something in their hands.

"You might want to reconsider calling us knuckleheads when you see what we've got," George waved the object he was holding in his hand with a sly grin.

"Would you care to do the honors, Fred?" George asked as he stood up. Fred followed suit and bowed graciously.

"Why yes I would dear George," he accepted courteously. Turning to the other, he opened his hand and a long red cord with something attached to it fell to the floor. In his hand he held a similar flesh colored object to the one on the other end of the string.

"May I present to you the latest creation from Weasley Wheezes," Fred dramatically announced, gesturing his other hand at the object. Hermione cocked her head to the side, examining the contents of his hand.

"The Extendable Ear is made to be used for eavesdropping in on conversations through closed doors of any thickness, keeping in mind they cannot penetrate strong sound barring wards if they are placed," he explained to the group. Hermione looked upon the invention with fascination, truly impressed by their work.

"That's quite remarkable magic," she complimented, reaching out to brush a finger on the red chord. The twins smiled broadly; proud of their work.

"What the blood hell are we waiting for? Let's put those Ears to use!" Ron jumped up and down, snatching one of the ears away. He tore out of the bedroom with the twins on his heels. Ginny and Hermione remained on the bed, debating what to do.

"Do you think we should join them?" Ginny questioned with a tinge of hopefulness in her voice. Hermione frowned and then bit her lip in nervous habit.

"It's not right…listening in on their private conversation," the brown haired girl reasoned. Ginny reluctantly nodded and let out a disappointed sigh,

"Yeah I guess you're right, we mustn't spy on the meeting," Ginny said. The two girls silently looked at each other, unable to avoid the devilish twinkle they reflected in their gaze.

"Oh hell, it can't hurt," Hermione gave in, standing up and grabbing Ginny's hand to drag her along.

"I knew you couldn't resist!" Ginny exclaimed; giddy with excitement. The girls raced out of the room and silently tip toed down the staircase. When they reached the bottom, they were shushed instantly by the trio of Weasley boys crouched a few feet away, clutching an Extendable Ear. Hermione observed that the other end of the Ear led directly to the kitchen door and was slid underneath.

"Heard anything good?" Ginny whispered as her and Hermione kneeled beside the boys, hovering over the flesh colored object.

* * *

"Who can patrol on the 24th? It's a Friday," Remus Lupin asked the crowd that was seated in the kitchen of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. He was standing up beside a large magical calendar that was floating in midair. On it, various names of Order members were scribbled underneath dates. There was one date of the month left to hand out to someone, and it was turning out to be quite the bugger indeed.

"I've got my daughters birthday party, so I'm unavailable," Kinglsey Shacklebolt announced, taking a sip of the coffee Mrs. Weasley had brewed. Remus diverted his gaze to Tonks, whose eyes seemed clouded with unyielding lust.

"Nymphadora, would it trouble you to take post that evening?" The werewolf requested with a slight caress in his voice, knowing he had an advantage over the love struck woman.

"I told you never to call me that! It's Tonks," she said irritably, her eyes instantly turning cold. Remus bowed his head apologetically and silently cursed himself for using her blasted first name.

"Forgive me, it slipped my mind. _Tonks_, my dear, are you available?" he asked again, making sure to emphasize her nickname. Her expression softened and she gave him a twisted grin.

"Can't, I've got some 'important' Ministry business assigned to me by the lovely Dolores Umbridge," she announced, wincing at the woman's name.

"Ah, delightful woman isn't she?" Arthur Weasley quipped from his chair, giving a sarcastic smile.

"'Ay, she's a delightful piece of work, that she is," the gruff voice of Mad Eye Moody commented from his standing position by the sink. His magical eye was currently floating in a glass of water in effort for it to be cleaned.

"Okay, well now that we've established how wonderful she is, can we please get on with business?" Lupin said, becoming agitated with the small gibes being exchanged. Sirius, who had been quiet most of the meeting, reached over from his chair next to Remus and gave him an encouraging pat on the back.

"Relax, mate. They're just having a bit of fun. Gods know we need it," he told his friend, giving him a weak smile. His gesture seemed to have helped Remus regain his dwindling patience.

"Alright, I'm sorry I've been disagreeable, I'm just tired," Lupin admit, the grey hairs int his brown mop were dreadfully prominent even in the dim lighting.

"Severus, maybe you can…?" he was pleading now, hoping that maybe the greasy git had an opening in his packed schedule.

"I'm afraid I cannot oblige to taking on another patrol date, even though I've already generously exceeded the required amount," Severus Snape smirked amidst his curtain of black lanky hair. To everyone's distaste, even sitting down the man made quite a menacing figure.

"Nobody was forcing you to volunteer for all of those dates, Snviellus," Sirius growled as he felt a bout of protectiveness for his best friend kick in. Snape took a sip of his coffee, keeping his beady eyes glued on Sirius'.

"At least I can volunteer, Black. Unlike you who have become nothing more than a prisoner in your own house," the Potion's Master spat as he spout his clever comeback that he knew would get Sirius riled up.

"Why you lousy piece of---"Sirius barked, making a movement to stand, but was stopped by Mrs. Weasley's hand on his shoulder, squeezing it firmly.

"I will not accept childish fighting at the dinner table, so please cease this silly banter at once," Molly told the men, pointing the index finger of her free hand sternly at Snape and Sirius.

"I have no problem being civil amongst company that isn't so…uncouth," Snape raised his nostrils as if smelling a bad taste in the air. Sirius' nails dug deep into the wooden table in front of him as he fought to restrain himself, only for Molly's sake.

"Enough already! Good gods is anyone able to take the dammed date without starting the Second War?" Lupin finally cracked, bellowing loudly at the bunch. Sirius bent his head down, feeling guilty he had instigated the argument and had not been able to offer help in covering a patrol date.

"I do believe the Second War has already started; the cause not due to the argumentative nature of myself and Mr.Black," Severus said silkily, not being able to contain himself. His unnecessary remark stimulated a small uproar as Sirius' chair squeaked loudly as it was pushed away from under him as he stood up. Lupin had lashed out in Snape's direction as well, in great contrast to his usual peaceful manner. The two Marauders' had over-exceeded their daily dose of Severus Snape and were now intending to 'rip him a new one.'

"STOP THIS FOOLISHNESS RIGHT NOW!" Molly Weasley raved, and with a slash of her wand, Sirius and Lupin were thrown into the nearest wall and Snape's mouth was bound shut with an invisible gag.

"Ouch, that hurt," Sirius groaned as he rubbed the back on his head where it had collided with a wooden cabinet.

"Good! It serves you right, acting like your fifteen years old. You all need to forget about your immature child hood rivalry in the past. Start thinking about the situation at hand! We're all in mortal danger, and we need our strongest minds and talents to work together. How on earth do you expect to conquer You-Know-Who when all you do is make these meetings a bloody circus!" The red headed woman scolded the men, shaking her wand furiously. Sirius and Lupin looked ashamed at her truthful words, but Snape appeared to be thoroughly pissed off, trying time and time again to open his mouth, only to be thwarted by Molly's immensely powerful Jaw-Locking Jinx.

"Now are you going to behave yourselves?" She eyed the guilty figures of Remus and Sirius and they both nodded slowly. Molly turned her attention over to Snape who didn't look agreeing by any means.

"I'm not countering that Jinx until you give me your word you will act accordingly in this household," she threatened, twirling her wand. Severus rolled his eyes in annoyance and then curtly nodded his head, signifying he would succumb to her terms, however unpleasant they were.

"Wonderful," she proclaimed, waving her wand in the direction of the dungeon bat. The Jinx lifted and he stretched his jaw openly.

"As much as I detest you're motherly instinct," Snape began flexing his jaw, catching Molly's penetrating glare, "I have to admit that was quite a thorough spell, even if it is mediocre."

Mrs. Weasley recognized his statement as heartfelt and smiled warmly at the man, ignoring the protesting scowls of Lupin and Sirius.

"Why thank you Severus. That was very admirable of you to commend me when I know you don't like me in the least," she told him. Severus had overworked his nice-factor for the day and just sneered at her in return. Before he could say yet another condescending comment, Arthur interjected.

"We still haven't solved the patrol date problem," the male Weasley reminded everyone, gesturing towards the calendar. Lupin came back to his dutiful senses and straightened himself to stand taller.

"Are there any taker whatsoever? If not, we might as well send Voldemort an invitation to come prance into the Ministry that night," Remus looked at each person around the table with a wary expression.

"Excuse me, but why aren't **you** volunteering for that date?" a young Auror named Andromeda Abbott asked Lupin. She, as well as two other new Auror's that had been brought to the meeting by Tonks, had been quiet the entire time aside from every once in a while accepting to patrol a date.

"Ehrm...Well…I….it's a bad time," Lupin fumbled over his words, turning a shade of pink. Sirius watched as his friend dove into a state of uncomfort and wished he could do something to put him out of his misery. Surprisingly, Snape was the one who came to Remus' rescue instead.

"That time of the month is not ideal for Mr. Lupin to engage in physical activity. He has a medical condition that is very private and I'm sure he does not wish to indulge exactly what it is to you three, who he barely knows let alone trusts with his great secret," Snape snapped at the girl and her friends. His statement had obviously satisfied her as well as her fellow coworkers and they fell silent once again.

"Thank you, Severus," Lupin said quietly, still looking downwards. Snape did not say anything in regards to the expression of gratitude; instead he decided to resolve the dilemma of the date on his own.

"I'll do the bloody patrol, write me in," Snape growled, thunking his coffee cup on the table. Lupin could have lit up an entire room with the smile that broke onto his face. Happily, he pointed his wand at the box in the calendar under the 24th and magically, Severus' name scrawled itself there in blood red ink.

"I guess you're not such a jack ass after all," Tonks put in, an amused smirk on her smooth face. Snape snorted in something that seemed like a strangled chortle.

"I wouldn't suggest jumping to such an absurd conclusion,_** Nmyphadora**_," Snape's sickeningly sweet voice melted like butter.

"Well that about wraps it up, doesn't it? " Arthur stood up quickly, preventing another series of argument as he watched Tonks seethe with anger. At Arthur's dismissal, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Until we meet again!" Arthur called out as the crowd rose from their seats and shuffled toward the door.

"Nice seeing you again, Arthur," Tonks bade him farewell from the door frame.

"You too, Tonks. Take care, and tell Mad-Eye I said goodbye as well. I know he wants to see McHart apprehended in Diagon Alley tonight," Mr. Weasley said, stretching his arms and legs. Tonks nodded and waved goodbye as she followed Snape out of the door; he not even bothering to say good bye to anyone.

"How are you doing, Remus?" Molly asked the exhausted man once everyone aside from the Weasley and Sirius had departed. He slumped down into a chair and yawned, extending his arms above his head.

"I'm worn out, Molly. I didn't think being in charge of these meetings would be so stressful, but I was very mistaken," he told her with drooping eyes. Molly smiled sadly as she took note of how old the man looked, even though he was fairly young.

"You're doing a wonderful job though. I think anyone else would have hexed someone into oblivion by now," Arthur put in kindly. Remus gave a tiny smile and started to stand up.

"I should really be going; I've got a load of stuff to do tomorrow that would be fairly difficult without sufficient sleep," Lupin stifled another yawn.

"Have a goodnight, my friend," Arthur said as Molly began to escort Lupin out of the kitchen.

"Knock em' dead, Moony," Sirius smiled from his seat as he raised his mug to the man's departing figure.

"As you wish, Padfoot," Remus' voice echoed into the kitchen as he looked over his shoulder to give Sirius a wink. He vanished out of sight with Molly into the hallway, leaving Arthur and Sirius to themselves in the kitchen.

"**FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY, WHAT IS THAT 'THING' IN YOUR HANDS**?" Molly's shrilly shriek rang throughout the house, immediately reaching the kitchen. Sirius and Arthur exchanged confused looks and sprang from their seats, taking off toward the hallway.

* * *

"Bloody hell," Ron groaned as his mother bombarded the small cluster of children huddled close to the kitchen door.

"WHAT IS THIS?" Molly boomed, snatching the Extendable Ears from the twin's hands. Ginny had turned red faced, matching her flaming hair perfectly, as Hermione looked away from the roaring mother, ashamed to catch her gaze.

"ExtendableEars," Fred muttered, looking down at the floor. Molly puffed out her cheeks and leaned in closer toward her sons.

"What did you say?" she hissed. Fred brought his eyes to meet his mothers and he sighed in defeat.

"Extendable Ears, Mum. It lets you listen in on conversations," he explained as he felt a hard jab from Ron hit him in the ribs.

"What did you tell her that for?" Ron cried, looking frantically at the Ears, knowing his mother would surely confiscate them.

"So we wouldn't get into anymore trouble then we're already in!" Hermione stepped in, glaring angrily at Ron. Mrs. Weasley ranted and scolded the underage children but Hermione had stopped listening. Right after her outburst directed at Ron, she caught someone's grey eyes over Molly's shoulder.

_Sirius_

_

* * *

_

The black, shaggy haired man rounded the corner with Arthur by his side as they rushed toward the source of Molly's bone shattering yells. When they found her, she was hovering over Fred and George. Ron was currently elbowing Fred in the chest, only to be reprimanded by an angry Hermione Granger.

_Hermione_

Sirius stopped walking and looked directly at her. The thoughts he kept pushing out of his head about her during the meeting came tumbling back into his mind as she looked away from Ron and met his grey eyes.

'_Gods, her brown honey pools…her pink lips that she bites when she's nervous…her exceeding intelligence…that loving smile…those caring arms that she wrapped around me..._

_ I can't keep doing this! _

_She's so young…so full of life... I'm neither of those things; she deserves someone that can take her to dinner and all those fancy things. I'm stuck in this house, aging faster than I should. Shes too good for me... I've got to stop these absurd thoughts about her.'_

"Up to bed, NOW," Molly finished her speech, thrusting her finger toward the stair case. Sulking, the Weasley boys headed up the stairs first, making sure to stomp every step of the way. Ginny followed quietly after them, leaving Hermione with Molly.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley. We shouldn't have intruded in on your private discussion. It was wrong," she peeled her eyes off of Sirius and looked at Molly apologetically. The mother Weasley gave the brown haired girl a small smile and wrapped her in a hug. Sirius felt a gush of jealously as he wished for a fleeting moment that he could be the one giving her a tender embrace.

"I know you kids are very curious, but there are just some things that are meant to be kept secret, the Order's business is one of them," she told the girl, patting her once more on the back and then releasing her. Hermione gave her a radiant smile that made Sirius' heart leap.

'_I wish she'd smile at me like that more often. It really is beautiful…'_

"Arthur and I are going to go to bed; if you're still hungry I'm sure Sirius can help you out there, right Sirius?" Molly asked him, turning around to face him. Still caught up in his thoughts, the words flew in one ear and out the other.

"Cat got your tongue, Sirius? Or should I say dog?" Molly joked, reaching out to gently prod him. Sirius shook his head and saw that Molly was looking at him expectedly and Hermione had a curious eyebrow raised.

"Sorry, Molly. What did you say?" he asked her, pushing some stray hair out of his face, carefully avoiding Hermione's stare.

"I said that Arthur and I were going to sleep and that if Hermione was hungry, you would fix her something to eat, but only if you want…" Molly repeated herself. Sirius could have done a jig on the spot, but he remained composed.

'_The gods must be feeling awfully generous today, here is Molly practically handing me Hermione! Oh shit, what am I talking about, I CANNOT try to woo her. I simply can't.'_

"Of course I can cook her something, don't worry about it. You two go to bed," Sirius smiled at the couple. Molly mouthed 'thank you' and turned toward the stairs. Arthur wrapped his arm around his wife's waist and they started toward the stairs.

"Goodnight, Sirius," the Weasley's chorused from the top floor.

"Night!" Sirius called back, glancing up towards the stairs. He turned his attention back to the girl standing in front of him. She wore a shy grin and fingered the hem of her white blouse.

"Ah, so we meet again," Sirius broke the silence, realizing they were both now truly alone. Hermione breathed in and leaned against the wall closest to her.

"So we do," she stated, her bashfulness disappearing slowly.

"I guess you already know how the meeting went, seeing as you spied on us," Sirius remarked with a mischievous smile. Hermione opened her mouth to retort, but stopped herself.

"Personally, I think you lot are brilliant and those Ear things the twins made are intriguing. If I had a choice, I would just tell you everything that went on at the meetings, saving you the trouble of spying, but you know I can't do that," he told her, licking his dry lips.

"I know you'd tell us if you could, I trust you," Hermione said quietly, giving him a grin. Sirius could feel the familiar fluttering in his abdomen.

'_Holy Merlin's ass, she trusts me? That's a big thing to say, trust isn't something easy to come by now a days. The weirdest part though, is that I think I might trust her too.'_

"Are you hungry? I mean, Molly did give me a mission to feed you," Sirius asked, changing the topic.

"I'm not very hungry actually," she admitted, shrugging innocently. Sirius cursed her stomach; he wanted to spend some time with her but he needed an excuse. Simply asking her to stay and chat seemed a bit bold.

'_Oh the hell with it, if she says no it won't be any damage to my ego. _

_Okay well maybe a little but that's beside the point.'_

"Perhaps you'd just like to stay and talk? I've had a pretty stressful evening and chatting with you might help me relax," he asked her, flushing a bit.

"That sounds lovely." Hermione gave him one of her trademark smiles. She glanced up and down the hallway and then frowned.

"Would you rather move this conversation to a more…homey area?" she requested, while dust from the ceiling fell onto her hair in a snowy mess.

"Let me get that," Sirius said softly as he reached out his hand and brush the particles off of her hair. He smiled as he felt her soft tresses in between his fingers, feeling as if he could leave them entwined there forever.

"Thank you," she whispered, meeting his grey eyes once again. Sirius' breathing quickened as he realized how close they actually were. He could feel her warm breath hitting neck. He tilted his head down so that their mouths were inches apart. Sirius saw her eyes reflecting the emotions of want..need..…and uncertainty.

'_She doesn't want me…she's not ready for this.'How could I be so naive?'_

"I'm sorry…" Sirius gasped and pulled away from her, untangling his hand from her hair. He could see red circles on her cheeks as her chest raise and sink rapidly.

"No it's alright…you were just taking the dust out of my hair, right?" she asked him with a nervous smile. Sirius knew she was well aware of his intention but decided to go along with the act.

"Yeah…the dust," Sirius mumbled; clearly blushing furiously right now.

'_Blushing? I'm blushing? Gods damn it, I went through hell in Azkaban without showing a single emotion and now this girl is making a thirty something year old man blush. I'm a disgrace.'_

"I think I should go to bed, it's getting late. We can chat tomorrow," the words tumbled from her pink mouth at the speed of light, herslef already heading for the stairs. Sirius nodded and managed a weak grin.

"Goodnight, Hermione."

* * *

Hermione whipped open the door to the bedroom she shared with Ginny and crossed the room in about two steps and threw herself onto her bed, not bothering to change her clothes. Her heart was beating rapidly as she pulled the covers up to her chin, staring at the ceiling in furious thought.

'_Dear gods, he tried to kiss me! Sirius Black wanted to kiss __**me**__! AND I DIDN'T LET HIM! Am I bloody stupid? What the hell is wrong with me, I could have kissed him….oh why did I have to look so damn unsure of myself? I mean of course deep down I wanted to, but I have to consider all the problems with this here. _

_He's **Harry's **Godfather, he's **twice** my age, he's a** prisoner** to himself, he's undoubtedly **very **experienced…_

_But do all of those things really matter all that much or am I just finding excuses for myself not to be happy for once?_

_Well, what I must do is obvious, isn't it?_

_I've got to woo Sirius Black_


	13. Change and Rearrange

Hello guys! I'm sorry for the wait, I wish I could have updated while on vacation but I had no computer access. I did enjoy myself very much and I hope this chapter makes everyone happy ! Once again thank you for the reviews and remember to keep em up!

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* * *

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**To Love a Marauder**

The next morning, Hermione made an effort to get up extra early in order to spend ample time getting ready in hopes that Sirius might find her a bit more easy on the eyes.

Almost immediately after turning off her blaring alarm, Hermione sprang out of bed and dashed to the bathroom holding a pile of clothing under her arm.

Jumping into the shower; Hermione scrubbed her body vigorously and lathered her hair repeatedly with vanilla scented shampoo. She didn't bother to take a moment to enjoy the feeling of the warm water against her skin. Instead, she leapt of the cascading liquid waterfall the second her hair was free of soap and began drying herself frantically.

After putting on her undergarments, Hermione pulled on a pair of dark washed denim jeans that fit snugly on her legs, making them look longer even though she herself was very short. For her blouse, she opted for a simple form fitting white short sleeve shirt that she prayed accentuated the small curves she had.

With dressing out of the way, she found herself staring into the dusty mirror of the bathroom, debating what to do with her hair. The first thing she knew she must do, is to dry it; and with a wave of her wand, the wet strands turned into fizzy chunks.

"This is very woodland creature-esque," Hermione mumbled, twirling a lock of hair around a finger. Thinking hard, she performed another spell on her hair while closing her eyes tightly, afraid to see the result. A millisecond later, she peeped open an eye to see her handiwork. Hermione had covered her mouth to keep from gasping when she saw the wonders the spell had down. Her brown puffy mane now lay significantly flatter and sleeker in gentle waves, a vast improvement from her aforementioned style. She couldn't stop to smile at her accomplishment because she had a lot more work to do.

'_These dark circles just won't do. I guess I'll have to fix those too. Just tack it onto the ever growing list of imperfections…'_

Hermione frowned at her reflection once again in the mirror. Prodding underneath her honey eyes, she muttered a few words and watched as the bags disappeared.

"Much better," she said out loud, observing how alert and refreshed she looked after performing the simple alteration to her appearance. It was the final tweak she planned on making this morning. Already; Hermione had performed a blushing spell, that made her pale cheeks flush with a subtle peach color, an eye defining charm, that made her brown eyes pop even more with a light application of eye makeup, and finally a chest enhancing charm, that well…you can figure out what that one did.

'_I don't look __**so **__bad, those Glamour Charms really did help out!..….Oh who am I kidding? An experienced, handsome playboy like Sirius won't ever look at me the way I'd I wish he would; he's just always going to think of me as the little girl riding Buckbeak. Why do I even bother?'_

Sighing, Hermione looked at herself once more, feeling a deep weight in the pit of her stomach. She knew for a fact that she was a Plain-Jane; nothing special or out of the ordinary. It truly had been a miracle that Krum had sought her out from the hundreds of females in the school, but Hermione didn't think too much of it. To her, she would always consider herself to be an ugly duckling.

"Here goes nothing," she muttered, drawing her eyes away from her reflection and casting them downward. She was truly disappointed in herself for making the menial physical changes. Hermione wanted Sirius to find her attractive, but she didn't really want to have to resort to giving him a fake portrayal of herself.

'_What if he just ends up liking what's on the outside, and not the inside? That would be terrible, considering the outside of me as of right now, is just a result of a few Glamour Charms, it isn't even really what I look like. God, why is enticing the opposite sex so damn hard?'_

Hermione put her hands in her hair and pulled gently, groaning loudly in frustration. She quickly removed her hands when she realized she had probably destroyed the hairstyle she'd work so hard on. Glancing at herself, she noticed only a few hairs went astray. Giving her head a final pat, she grabbed the door handle with a deep breath. Sirius was surely downstairs consuming breakfast at this moment, and Hermione knew that it was the perfect opportunity to see if he would notice her dolled up appearance.

* * *

"Fuck, what am I supposed to do?" Sirius growled, pacing back and forth in his bedroom. His face was thoroughly flush, considering he had encircled the room at least three hundred times already.

'_How the hell am I suppose to face Hermione after what happened last night? What, am I supposed to just casually walk up to her and say 'Hey, thanks for rejecting me, how about we give it another go?' ** Shit**, I've really gotten myself into a mess this time._

_I completely blew it._

_If I wouldn't have been so damn impatient about kissing her, then none of this would have happened. Maybe she would have gained my trust if I would have held off and then she may have kissed me voluntarily! _

_Merlin's beard!_

_Why am I even thinking about this? I cannot under any circumstances pursue her, she's a child!_

_No. No she is not a child. I can't lie to myself about that. She is a young woman in more ways than one and I must give her respect for that.'_

The long haired man slammed his fist into the wall in front of him; anger boiling in his veins. He was so preoccupied with facing Hermione, he had completely dismissed the fact that even if she ever did reciprocate his attraction, he could never act on it. Everything he felt was purely wishful thinking.

But even so, he still felt nervous about facing her this morning. He was already fairly late to breakfast, surely Hermione had been downstairs for awhile already and probably thanking the gods he hadn't showed up. Sirius however knew that he would have no choice but to face her at one point during the day. It was inevitable, especially since Molly had such a knack of pairing them together for cleaning, which was on the day's agenda.

"God damn you, Kreacher! If only you had taken care of this bloody house, then we wouldn't have to be cleaning it from top to bottom. I wouldn't have to see _**her**_!" Sirius ranted to his empty bedroom, kicking an empty can on the floor aside.

'_Show your face Kreacher, I dare you. I'll tear you to pieces and mount your head on that damn wall!'_

In his fit of rage, Sirius practically ripped the black shirt he had grabbed from a pile of clothes on the floor. He jerked it on furiously; his hair almost getting caught in the collar. Padfoot stood unmoving in the center of the room for a moment, trying to compose himself. A chiming bell sounded, alerting him that breakfast was almost over.

"I think I've lost my appetite," he grumbled, shuffling over to his bed. He collapsed onto its edge and put his head in his hands, savoring the last few minutes of solitude he would have until he was fetched to go downstairs and help.

Closing his eyes, he regretfully saw the image in his head of himself and Hermione pressed close together as he inched toward her, both of their breaths ragged. He felt a pang as he watched her pull away, leaving him stunned and ashamed. The image faded away and Sirius picked his head up from his hands and shook it sadly.

'_I was so bloody close…'_

* * *

The kitchen, as usual, was bustling with movement and buzzing with the sonorous sound of early morning chit chat. Around Hermione, the conversation was flowing steadily between the Weasley boys and Ginny. They exchanged playful jibes amongst each other while carrying on a discussion about one of the twins' new invention. Hermione, however, remained quiet as she stole quick glances at the doorway.

'_Where __**is**__ he? He's usually the first one down here aside from Mrs. Weasley. Oh I do hope he's alright. I didn't do all those charms for nothing! He must have a good reason for being so unpunctual…_

_Is it possible he's scared to face me after what happened last night? Maybe he sees my withdrawal from him as a sign of rejection? Lord, if he only knew it was the complete opposite! '_

"I do wonder where Sirius has gotten off to….it's not like him to miss breakfast," Molly Weasley pondered as she washed a load of dishes at the sink. At the sound of the man's name, Hermione popped up with interest.

"Maybe he isn't feeling well," Ginny piped up, exiting the conversation about 'Cackling Coke Cans.'

"Or he's going on an anti-cleaning strike!" Fred said hopefully. Molly turned from the sink to face her son with a frown.

"Fred. I really doubt he's gone on a cleaning strike, for goodness sakes, it's **his** house that's being cleaned!" she said exasperatedly. The red headed boy considered the statement and nodded his head in agreement.

"Guess you're right. Mum. If I was him, I'd sure as hell want this dump clean and not covered in a layer of soot," he considered as he took a healthy swig of pumpkin juice.

"Fred Weasley! Where are your manners?" she scolded, enforcing her distaste with him by snatching away his half finished plate of food.

"Mum, I wasn't done with that, I'm still hungry!" he whined, looking longingly at the plate. She shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to toss the contents of the plate into the waste bin.

"You should have thought of that before you went off insulting poor Sirius' home," Molly told him, even though she secretly agreed with Freds' description of the house. Fred crossed his arms while playing an annoyed scowl on his features

"However, I do think that Ginny's concern may have some credibility to it. I'd like one of you to go upstairs and check on him," she requested to the children. Hermione felt her heart rate speed up considerably as she realized the opportunity to begin wooing Sirius had arisen.

'_If I go upstairs to check on him, he would surely get a good look at me. He'd have no choice in avoiding me then. Plus we'd be alone…'_

"I'll go," Hermione volunteered in what she thought was a casual tone. Molly smiled gratefully at her and nodded.

"Thank you, Hermione," the flame haired woman said, putting the final clean dishes into the sink.

"I'll come for you if something is wrong," the brown haired girl called out as she headed for the exit of the kitchen. She didn't bother straining to hear Molly's reply; instead she sped up her pace in the hallway until she reached the staircase. Once there, she took each step carefully and slowly, feeling the weight of anxiousness beginning to form within her newly enlarged chest.

"Everything is going to be fine, Hermione. He's going to act completely normal…nothing will be awkward," she told her self in a low whisper. Her uneven breathing slowed as she reached the landing and headed toward Sirius' room.

"Let's hope he really _**isn't **_sick," she mumbled while reaching his door and raising a hand to knock. She hesitated momentarily, her hand frozen in midair.

'_Is this what I really want? Is he worth breaking the rules for?'_

She thought hard about the questions she had raised to herself. Hermione felt torn between what was 'right' and what was 'wrong'. The two words could have many meanings:

What was right, for instance, could be ignoring these silly feelings for the man in question and going on with her life without another twinge of affection for him.

What was wrong might be pursuing these feelings in hope of a relationship with the older man that was the godfather of her best friend.

'_But right and wrong could mean something else, couldn't it?'_

The right thing to do could very well be acting upon her attraction to the male, paying no heed to the baggage that would come along with him. Being with Sirius could truly be something magical and could simply feel _**right**_.

However, doing the wrong thing in this perspective, would be disregarding the emotions toward the man, and leaving herself and him loveless and lonely for a possible extended amount of time.

What was it then, that she wanted?

Breathing deeply, Hermione suprised even herself as she easily came to a decision. Her already raised hand came down onto the wooden door and rapped lightly.

Sirius was _**right**_.

* * *

For quite some time now, Sirius had remained seated on the edge of his bed in a sullen daze. The idea of going down to breakfast had came and gone, leaving him alone to his thoughts. It had been blissfully silent for the duration of his sulking, until the faint knocking at his door pounded in his ears.

'_I knew the Weasley would send someone after me. I just hoped it would have been a few hours from now.'_

Sirius grunted and stood up from the bed; it was time to face the music, or better phrased 'one of the plentiful Weasley's.'

"Come in!" Sirius called out in a horse voice. The wooden door creaked open ever so slowly, first revealing a mane of brown hair.

"Hermione," he said in quiet disbelief before she had fully revealed herself in the doorway. He had assumed a Weasley would come fetch her, but the thought of the young woman who plagued his mind coming to get him never once seemed like a possibility.

WIth a final creak, the heavy door had finally opened completely and Hermione was exposed as she stood in the doorframe. Sirius zoned in on her and met her eyes quickly before darting them away. In his cursory glance, he had noticed something peculiar about her appearance. He couldn't put his finger on it just yet. Disregarding the lump in his throat, Sirius swallowed and redirected his gaze in her direction. His barely kept his eyes from widening in surprise as he meticulously took in Hermione's appearance.

Her usually unruly hair was now resting in behaved sleek waves that fell below her shoulders. Sirius felt an instant rush of excitement as he remembered how lovely her hair had felt between his fingers the night before and he longed to touch it again. His eyes moved down her face and found her eyes staring back at him with anxiousness. He noticed the brown orbs seemed to be lightly lined in black, making them stand out even more.

Hermione's bright eyes truly made her face glow, but so did something else. Sirius could see what looked like a slight blush on her cheeks, but as he squinted he could see what turned out to be a peachy trace of color.

'_She looks so beautiful…but why had she gone through all of the trouble? Hermione doesn't need her striking features to be played up, she is perfect the way she is. It's not only her face and full hair, but it's her body too. Her slim waist, small build, rounded breasts…wait what happened there?'_

At the thought of her breasts, Sirius' eyes had absent mindedly found themselves lingering on her chest to find that her assets had been substantially upgraded. Hermione had obviously realized where his gaze had landed and a real blush burned furiously on her cheeks.

Sirius found it hard not to scowl at the girl for doing such a silly thing to her body.

'_She enlarged her breasts? Bloody hell, why would she do such a ridiculous thing? Her chest was absolutely fine before, filled out and natural. Good gods, something must be seriously wrong if she felt the need to make such a dramatic change.'_

Sirius, seeing all he needed to see, finally pried his eyes off of Hermione and scratched his head. His confusion was obvious, as well as his growing interest in the matter.

However, little did the man know; he was what was '_**Sirius**__-ly'_ wrong.

* * *

Hermione could feel her face burning with heated embarrassment. She wasn't unnerved as Sirius curiously examined her hair and face, as he seemed to appraise her by the faint glimmer in his eyes.

It was only when he moved his gaze lower to her chest that she felt obviously self conscious and insecure about her alteration. Hermione knew he would probably discover her larger chest, but she had no idea he would outright stare at her when he was aware she was watching him.

However, being the object of his perusal wasn't at all a complaint on her behalf. She had been silently enjoying his study of her until she saw a spark of anger in his eyes. The way he considered her breasts wasn't with delight or interest, it was with disgust and contempt.

Fighting the urge to cry, Hermione bit her lip hard and stared up at the deteriorating ceiling above, forgetting that Sirius was still stand before her.

'_How could I ever think he would find me attractive? It was a stupid, stupid idea to perform those blasted charms! I did everything I could to make myself look more appealing, but what happened? He hated it! I guess Sirius will never find me attractive no matter what I do….and to think I thought he was 'right'!'_

"Hermione, don't," Sirius voice was soothing and gentle as he reached out to touch the girl lightly on the arm. Hermione abruptly became aware of the large droplets of water running down her face as she tilted her head back down.

"I'm fine, just leave it!" Hermione meekly swatted Sirius hand away, sniffling loudly as she wiped her tears away with the hand. He backed up in defeat, but did not cease to comfort her.

"What's wrong Hermione? You can tell me," Sirius coaxed her as he sat back down onto the edge of the bed. She shook her head and turned around to leave. He watched her sadly walk toward the door and he felt a wrenching pain in his chest. Sirius knew what he had to say to her, but that didn't make it any less hard to get the words out.

"I….I … I think you're _beautiful_, Hermione," the man staggered out as his breath caught in his throat. The girl stopped walking toward the door and turned back around slowly, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Only looking like this," she whispered, gesturing her hand toward her face, pointing out her modifications. Sirius didn't miss a beat as he rose from the bed and walked up to her, grabbing the hand she was using to show her adjustments. He held it between his two smooth hands as he looked down at the girl.

"No, not looking like this. You are beautiful when you are yourself, Hermione. You shouldn't ever second guess what god has given to you. He has bestowed you with the most radiant eyes, and shining smile. He's made you perfect in every way….inside and out," Sirius told her quietly, putting her hand in his palms on top of her heart. Hermione tilted her face upwards to look at the man who was saying these sweet, sweet words to her.

"Thank you…thank you, Sirius," she replied in a whisper that died on her lips as Sirius began to close the gap between them. Her heart pounded in her ears as he came nearer, and she swore she could hear the thumping in his chest too.

'_This time he will receive the kiss he so honorably peruses. This time I will not push him away because now I know…_

_He thinks I'm beautiful the way I am.'_

And at her last thought, the space that kept their two faces apart was gone as Sirius pressed his soft lips gently to hers. He let his hand find its way into her hair as she slid her hand around the back of his neck to pull him closer, never wanting him to leave. His lips caressed hers as she reciprocated his movements, responding with the tenderness that filled her heart. She brought her other hand up to Sirius' face as she stroke the light stubble on his cheek with it. Hermione felt his smile form onto her lips. Sirius decided he could become forever lost in her lips, but he knew the kiss had to end. Things needed to be be said between them, and secrets they both kept to themselves had to be exchanged

With a regretful sigh, he removed his lips from hers with a final chaste kiss as he pulled away, his eyes never leaving hers. Hermione was still bathing in the afterglow of the kiss as she smiled dreamily at the handsome wizard in front of her.

"We need to talk, Hermione."


End file.
